The Link of Haruhi Suzumiya
by Altes
Summary: Four months after the events, described in The Astonishment of Haruhi Suzumiya, the SOS Brigade is faced with the most bizarre and dangerous mystery they've dealt with so far. Starting with Ryoko Asakura's sudden return, it becomes apparent someone powerful is getting at our heroes. Can they stand together and go through the challenges thrown upon them? Find out in this new story!
1. Prologue

**Prologue  
**

The first day of September marked the beginning of a new autumn. Summer vacations were over, and this time we've managed to spend them without anything weird happening out of nowhere. Of course, it's easy to guess who was the driving force behind all our activities this summer. Haruhi Suzumiya, the leader of a school club called the SOS Brigade, dedicated to searching for supernatural beings like aliens, time travelers, espers and sliders, and hanging out with them. Does that sound crazy to you? It's okay if it does. Haruhi is the most eccentric and unbearable person you'll ever meet; it would be rather unusual if she chose the most important mission of her life to be something more ordinary. This was no joke I said before about looking for aliens, time travelers, espers and sliders. This is the truth, the meaning of Haruhi's very existence in this world.

What's much more amusing that all those things she desperately hopes to meet one day do exist, and they are closer than she expects them to be. There are five members in the SOS Brigade. Haruhi is our leader, and who are the others?

Here's Yuki Nagato, for example. She looks like an ordinary school girl, always reading a book nearby and not saying a single word until someone talks to her first. A quiet, shy book-loving girl. But in fact she is an alien. According to her own words, she is a Humanoid Interface, sent to our planet by the Data Inte- something something Entity, I can never remember that ridiculously long name properly. You would never expect, but her strength isn't some super advanced alien technology you can see in every sci-fi work. Instead, she has this power to manipulate data around her, very similar to magic. The best comparison I can come up with is Neo's powers to manipulate data in the Matrix to make himself stronger and faster, or stopping bullets in mid-air. Nagato can do all that and even more. I saw her fighting skills once and I still can't believe a fragile girl like Nagato could have moves like that. And it wasn't the most impressive thing she's done.

Then there's Mikuru Asahina, a senior student one year above the rest of us. She is the most beautiful girl in our school, and she's also what an otaku would call a moe: a cute and clumsy girl who tends to get herself in trouble, a girl you would want to hug and tell her everything is going to be all right. Oh, Asahina-san… Ahem, where was I? But the truth is, she is actually from the future. Asahina-san is a time traveler who came to our time to investigate a strange anomaly that prevents her fellow time travelers from going too far in the past. I'll explain the details later. Now, to the next Brigade member…

Itsuki Koizumi. A good-looking guy who definitely has as many secret admirers as Asahina-san, but of a different gender. He is always polite, knows a great lot of smart things and random trivia, and also has this big stupid smile on his face that only goes off so often. Koizumi is an esper, a person with psychic powers. The irony is, he can't access them until he goes to a special place called a Closed Space, a colorless replica of our world where giant creatures called Celestials dwell. His job as an esper is to enter Closed Spaces and destroy Celestials who cause havoc there. Why so?

It's all because of Haruhi. Not just Koizumi, but also Nagato and Asahina-san are here because of what she truly is. Apparently, Haruhi has the power to create something from nothing, to change the world around her at her desire. Nagato believes this power will eventually serve as a means of evolving the life in the universe. Asahina-san thinks that Haruhi is responsible for blocking the time travel beyond a certain point. Koizumi outright calls her God. And what does Haruhi say about all this?

She doesn't even know anything that's going on around her and because of her. That's right: the person who looks for aliens, time travelers and espers doesn't realize they are right here, by her side, and that they are interested in her as much as she is in them. The person who has the power to change the world doesn't know she has it, and cannot use it properly. So far everything she's done was completely random. Since she started the SOS Brigade more than a year ago, many weird things have happened, and she still doesn't know about most of them, and that she was the one behind them. Is your mind blown yet?

I guess now you want to know about me. I can almost hear your questions: "Who are you?", "What's your name?", "What powers do you have?" Well, prepare to be disappointed. I am just an ordinary guy without any supernatural powers who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only unusual thing about me is that I go by a stupid nickname Kyon that everyone uses instead of my real name. Even my little sister, who used to call me "big brother." That's all there is about me.

I and the rest of the SOS Brigade are students of the North High school. We are second years, except for Asahina-san who's a third year. This day, September 1, the first day of autumn, having spent nice summer vacations without any time loops or fake murders, we've returned to school and went to our classes. Haruhi and I go to the same class, so when we opened the door, the first thing we saw was what we expected to see the least.

"Good morning!" with a cheerful smile on her face, this girl which hasn't been in this school for more than a year greeted us. Both Haruhi and I stopped at the door, but while Haruhi looked astonished at the view, I felt this sharp sensation of fear growing in my guts. I knew about this person much more than Haruhi ever did. The girl who tried to kill me twice, the girl from my worst nightmares, the snake hiding behind a pretty face.

Ryoko Asakura was standing right in front of us.


	2. Chapter 1: Déjà Vu

_Author's note: the chapter's original content was edited. Kudos to Anon666WTF for pointing out the inconsistencies with the official series._

* * *

**_Chapter 1_. _Déjà Vu_**

When a person encounters a new object or a situation, their brain processes a conscious perception of the experience. Sometimes, that person has a glimpse of what they see in their head before the brain actually finishes constructing the perception. This creates a false sense of familiarity which is called a déjà vu: a phenomenon of a strong sensation that something you're experiencing for the first time has already happened in the past.

But this time I knew exactly when I've seen this before. Last winter, a few days before Christmas, when I had only started noticing that something strange had happened, the door of our class opened, and the most unlikely person came in and casually walked to the seat that wasn't hers. Ryoko Asakura, the former class representative who was actually a Humanoid Interface like Yuki Nagato and who was vanquished by the latter when she tried to kill me. She tried to exploit the bond between me and Haruhi by butchering me with a knife just to see how Haruhi would react. But Nagato intervened and saved my life that day, probably preventing a disaster. And I'm not talking about my own death.

However, when Asakura had returned like nothing happened at all, it was because Haruhi's reality warping powers were hijacked by Nagato in an attempt to create a world where none of us would have to suffer through all her crazy endeavors. She made an alternate reality where Haruhi attended another school and didn't have any powers; as a result, Asakura was an ordinary human just like me and never had a reason to wish me any harm. It wasn't until a couple of days later when I learned about all the details, so when Asakura appeared, I was shocked and stricken with absolute horror. And now I was feeling the same way, even though this time things are much more different. Haruhi is right here, and now I've entered the class to see her here, not the other way around.

"Asakura?" gasped Haruhi. A big grin appeared on her face, and she ran towards the unexpected visitor as if they were old friends. "Is it really you? So you have returned from Canada!"

After Nagato defeated Asakura, she pulled some strings to make everyone think my unsuccessful assailant transferred out to another school in Canada. Haruhi, desperate to uncover something special, decided to investigate why it happened so suddenly. Of course, she never found out the truth and had to abandon this mystery after having no success in finding a single trace of Asakura. But now her curiosity has awakened, and all her old and forgotten questions were about to be answered. With lies, no doubt.

"Suzumiya-san!" smiled Asakura warmly. "I'm so glad to see you again. Even more so, I'm happy to transfer back to North High into the same class!"

"No way!" Someone pushed me away and ran towards Asakura. Taniguchi, that fool. I remember you said that Asakura was a AA+ in your list of hotties. I imagine how ecstatic you are now. "You're back, Asakura-san! I'm Taniguchi, remember me?"

Asakura gave out a small laugh. "Of course I do. Nice to see you too, Taniguchi-kun. How have you been?"

"Hey! Don't change the subject!" Haruhi pushed that drooling idiot Taniguchi aside without even looking at him. "You could've warned us at least that you were coming back! You also disappeared without saying a single word, not even a goodbye! That's nothing like the class representative I remember!"

Oh Haruhi. Have you forgotten you refused to talk to Asakura every time she tried to start a conversation with you? And now you're all over her. I realized I was standing outside the classroom this whole time, so I decided to come in as well. It's not like Asakura is going to do something violent in front of the whole class… is she?

"Hi", I said to her while stopping at my seat. "I see you are back. For good this time?"

"Hello, Kyon", I got a smile from Asakura as well. Don't you smile at me, I know exactly what you truly are. If only I knew what you are up to this time… "Yes, I believe I won't be leaving this school anymore. Until I graduate, of course. It's been ages."

Not true. We've met a couple of times a few months ago, when you protected me from Kuyo Suou and when you showed up in that Closed Space with Nagato and Kimidori-san. But I can't say that in front of Haruhi. Good to see neither can you.

"We can talk about Canada later, Suzumiya-san", said Asakura. "The class will start in a few minutes. I have to admit I've missed Okabe-sensei as much as I have all the others."

"You haven't heard the news?" said Taniguchi. What news? Could it be you finally have something important to say? "Near the end of the summer vacations, there were rumors about Okabe leaving our school. They said he got a new job at a prestigious college in Tokyo. And it turned out to be true! Can you believe it?"

"Are you serious?"

"I'll be damned if I'm not serious! I'm so proud of him. I'm gonna miss him badly…" Taniguchi sniffed, as if trying to hold back tears. "So now we are going to have a new homeroom teacher. I wonder who it's gonna be… Maybe a woman, young and hot? I-I mean, of course none can compare to your beauty, Asakura-san!"

Pathetic.

"Oh, thank you, Taniguchi-kun", giggled Asakura.

That's a surprise. No, it's not uncommon for a teacher to get a new job in the middle of a school year, but… From a school to a college? And not just any college, but a prestigious one in the capital? That's quite an achievement, Okabe-sensei, I congratulate you. Too bad we'll probably never meet again. Although… why not? Once I find out where he works now, it's only a matter of picking a day to arrange a meeting. It also sounds like something like Haruhi would definitely do. Maybe we should discuss this later, I'm sure she would approve. Good grief, what's with this sudden urge to do something cool just for the sake of it? Am I turning into Haruhi?

But why is Asakura here? I wonder if she will speak the truth if I confront her about it. Or I could ask Nagato what happened, it sounds much safer. After all, Asakura is her backup, so she should know everything about her reasons to return.

And before I knew it, the classroom was full with students, the bell went off and the math lesson was about to begin. The door opened, and an unfamiliar man entered and stood in front of the chalkboard.

"Good morning, class", he smiled. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Takahiro Shiraki."

He wrote his name on the board and turned back to students.

"As you may have heard, Okabe-san has left this school", he continued. "Not only did that leave you without a homeroom teacher, but without a physical education teacher as well. From this day forth, I am Okabe-san's replacement, as much as I despise the word. However, I won't be filling up both roles. Rather than PE, I will be teaching you math."

Huh. Sounds like there has been more movement in the teachers' ranks than Taniguchi mentioned.

"Your new PE teacher will be Sado Tamaki-san. He used to give classes only to third year students, but not anymore. He's got a lot of enthusiasm, I tell you." Our new homeroom teacher took the class roster in his hands. "As for me, I am new to this school as well, not just your class. I am very curious about what each of you has in store for me, so let's start with a call over."

As this Shiraki person started calling students one by one, I was studying him. He was a young man in his mid-twenties with brown hair and blue eyes, glowing with energy. He was dressed in a good-looking suit with a tie, and he was standing straight and tall, with some strange aura of strength surrounding him. This vision seemed awfully familiar… Where have I seen that before? Now I truly had a real déjà vu.

Girls couldn't get their eyes off the new teacher. Figures; he sure looks handsome to them. I looked at Taniguchi: he seemed devastated. Not only his expectations about the new teacher being a woman have been ruined, Shiraki also was a lot more superior to him when it came to being popular among the girls. All he did was show up in a suit and smile. I heard a noise behind me. Even Haruhi was wiggling on her chair!

"Kyon!"

"What?" I couldn't understand who called me. Then I noticed Shiraki was looking right at me.

"I've just said your name twice, young man", he spoke with a soft smile. "Since you wouldn't respond, I thought your nickname would get your attention. It seems I was right, wasn't I?"

"Yes!" I stood up. "I'm sorry, Shiraki-sensei."

"No problem. But you should pay more attention in class. How do you hope to graduate from school if you don't even listen to your teacher during a call over?"

I felt blood rushing up to my cheeks.

"You may sit. Now, next is…"

"Kyon!" I heard a whisper behind me. "Isn't it strange? A new guy gets to be a homeroom teacher! Something is fishy here!"

I didn't think about it that way. Indeed… The principal should've placed in charge a teacher we and he know, someone who has worked here for some time, not a newcomer. But maybe they know each other, and that's how Shiraki got this position? Wait! How the hell does he know my nickname?!

"Suzumiya Haruhi!"

"It's me!" Haruhi stood up so quickly she hit the table with her knees, releasing a loud bang. I turned my head, and my jaw dropped when I saw her… what's wrong with her face? Is she blushing?

"Got it. Thank you everyone, now we can start our lesson. Write down the topic…"

That's too many strange things in a single day, even for me. This is the weirdest 1st of September I've had in my life.


	3. Chapter 2: Ominous Signs

_Author's note: the chapter's original content was edited. Kudos to Anon666WTF for pointing out the inconsistencies with the official series._

* * *

**_Chapter 2_. **_**Ominous Signs**_

"Okay, I'll stop here for today," said Shiraki about an hour later and looked at his wristwatch. "We've got a couple of minutes before the bell rings, so I'd like to try myself as the homeroom teacher for the first time. It won't be long, I promise. Goto-san!"

Our class representative stood up.

"Yes, Shiraki-sensei?"

"I've heard from my predecessor Okabe-san that you were not quite pleased with your position. Is that true?"

"Well, sensei..." Goto, a guy with chestnut hair, hesitated for a moment. "I don't have any complaints, but it has been quite tiresome. Sometimes it gets in the way of my studying."

"Hmph." Shiraki gave him a sympathetic look. "Asakura-san, you used to be this class' representative before you had transferred out, didn't you?"

Asakura nodded.

"Would you like to assume this post again?" Shiraki put his fingers together in a triangle. "Why don't we do Goto-san a favor and lessen his burden? What do you think, young man?"

"Really? I don't mind it," said Goto relieved. "Besides, Asakura-san's leadership abilities are something to be admired. She had done a much better job than I, and she would do so again."

"If you are so sure... But it also depends on your wish, Asakura-san. I'd like to hear if you want it or not."

"I would appreciate it," smiled Asakura.

"Then it's settled!" Shiraki wrote something down in the class roster. "Now you are the new, or rather the old… Nevermind… You are the class representative now, Asakura-san. I'll give you a day off so you could adapt back to your class, and tomorrow you will assume your duties. Class dismissed!"

And just like that, Asakura was reinstated. I won't deny she used to be quite competent, but I can't say I like the idea. The bell went off, and everyone stood up and bowed.

"Thank you for the lesson, Shiraki-sensei!"

I could hear excitement in Haruhi's voice as she was saying these words. Is she that amazed by Shiraki's mysterious appearance and overwhelmed by the desire to get to the bottom of it? In the blink of an eye she stormed out of the classroom moments after he left. Good grief, I hope she doesn't want to interrogate him. Who am I kidding, of course she does. And why do I even bother?

The lesson wasn't too bad, I must admit. Sure, I don't like math and I don't think I ever will, but Shiraki did his best trying to explain all this new complicated stuff. Thanks to his charisma, I managed to stop myself from daydreaming as I often do in class. Also, I didn't want that embarrassing event to repeat. You know, when he called me Kyon. Ugh. The guy's got a talent at teaching, though. We'll be fine with him in charge of our class.

This was a short break. The long one comes between the second and third lessons, which is when students eat their school lunch and visit their clubrooms if they participate in any clubs. That's when Haruhi drags me to our Brigade's headquarters, which she apparently enjoys greatly. She doesn't have to do it, I've made a habit of coming there on my own. So it was no wonder Haruhi came back five minutes later, looking angrier than that cat with an oddly-shaped face, and fell onto her seat.

"Any luck in chasing your new idol?" I asked her and received a look so furious I thought she might actually turn me into a pile of ash.

"That's none of your business," she spat out. "And he's not my idol!"

Whatever you say.

"Are you alright, Suzumiya-san?" Asakura appeared nearby, and I had to get a hold of myself and not back away. "Hey, do you want to talk about my time in Canada?"

Silence. Haruhi didn't even look at her. She really is upset. Asakura sighed and looked at me, as if looking for support. Yes, miss class rep, I'm totally the guy who's willing to give you that. But… The thought to talk to Asakura crossed my mind again. Should I, should I not?

The bell rang again, beginning a new lesson. Thank goodness. I'm not morally prepared for doing such a thing.

* * *

The next break was the long one I've mentioned before. Haruhi sprinted out of the classroom once again, eager to try and get Shiraki… do… whatever she wants. Why was she so upset before? Did he blend with the crowd and she couldn't find him? Did he refuse to talk to her? Eh, I'm not sure I want to know what's going on through that girl's head. I briefly looked at Asakura. She was chatting with other girls, discussing her trip to Canada in great detail. Is a class rep supposed to lie through her teeth to her classmates, even in order to keep her cover intact? Well, at least she's not interested in me at the moment. Fine by me.

I shuffled to the cultural department and stopped at the door with a sign that said "Literature Club." The sign is a fake, of course. In fact, beyond this door lies the base of the SOS Brigade, established by Haruhi a year ago. Once an almost empty room with little more than a bookcase and a single Literature Club member sitting in a corner and reading a book, now it was filled with all kinds of stuff, some of which was forbidden to use inside the school building. And some was even stolen from others. Thankfully, Haruhi got better than that, even though she didn't get rid of the things that weren't supposed to be in our clubroom. I knocked on the door, and a girl's voice said, "Come in!" I smiled when I heard this most beautiful voice I would recognize anywhere at any given time.

"Hey!" Inside there were Asahina-san in her maid outfit and Nagato, sitting in her chair and reading a thick book. Nagato raised her head and greeted me with a nod. Asahina-san offered me some tea, to which I happily agreed. Did I mention she makes the best tea in the world? If they teach people things like that in the future, I'm envious I can't visit it. I sipped Asahina-san's nectar of gods and remembered something important I wanted to discuss with Nagato.

"Asakura has returned," I said. A scared "oh!" and the sound of breaking china startled me. Asahina-san dropped her teapot and turned to me shaking with fear.

"The evil alien that almost killed you?" I'm sorry, Asahina-san, I shouldn't have said it so suddenly. I couldn't stand seeing this frightened look in her eyes. I took a piece of cloth and started cleaning up the mess.

"Nagato… Do you know anything about it?" I asked Nagato after I was done. Is there a spare teapot? Maybe in one of these cabinets…

"There has been an emergency in the Data Integration Thought Entity's consensus," I heard Nagato's calm voice. "Ryoko Asakura's data body was abducted."

I froze.

"Abducted? What do you mean by that? Wasn't she… well, not dead, that's for sure, but…"

"After Ryoko Asakura's data link was terminated, her body was returned to the Data Integration Thought Entity," answered Nagato. "As my backup, she could be summoned into this world and receive an interface to interact with it when certain conditions are met. However, seven hours and fifty-one minute earlier this day all Humanoid Interfaces on this planet have received an urgent message from the Data Integration Thought Entity. Ryoko Asakura's data body has been forcibly removed from consensus and returned to this world, also obtaining an interface. She is no longer under the Data Integration Thought Entity's control."

I was trying to grasp what Nagato just said.

"So what you are saying is that someone broke into that consensus of yours, stole Asakura and brought her back into this world?"

"Yes."

I wasn't ready to hear that. I can't say I trust that Data Entity thing, but I really would've preferred if it was behind Asakura's return. Knowing that someone else is controlling her now is scary. But…

"Do you know who did this?" I asked Nagato.

"The Data Integration Thought Entity is currently investigating the incident. There has been no success in finding the culprit, understanding their motives or predicting their actions in the future. It is also unknown how the culprit managed to interfere with the Data Integration Thought Entity's consensus without being detected or leaving a trace."

Nagato was saying all this with her casual emotionless voice, but I could see that worried look in her eyes that many wouldn't even notice. She always looks stoic and passionless, but if you are lucky enough to get to know her better, you will start noticing hints of emotions in everything she does. The way she looks at you, the way she speaks, sometimes even the way she remains silent. But now… I would never think I'd see you scared, Nagato. If even your all-knowing boss can't explain what happened to Asakura, I guess it's okay to start panicking.

"Wait…" An idea occurred to me. "Could that Macrospatial what-was-its-name-again thing be responsible? You know, the one which controls Kuyo Suou? It managed to hurt your superiors once, it might have tried something nasty once more…"

"The Macrospatial Quantum Cosmic Existence's involvement had been considered," replied Nagato immediately. "However, their interactions with the Data Integration Though Entity in the past were crude and… clumsy. While the Macrospatial Quantum Cosmic Existence's intent to hijack control of one of the Data Integration Though Entity's interfaces would be understandable, it is highly unlikely they would have managed to do so as effortlessly as it has been done by the culprit."

So it's not Kuyo Suou's boss. Does it mean we now have something even more sinister? I ran my hand through my hair. Wait, why am I standing in front of this cabinet? Oh, right, the teapot. Here it is. It's a little dirty, I should wash it…

"So what are we going to do about Asakura's return?"

"If Ryoko Asakura attempts to harm anyone in this world…" Nagato raised her hand and touched her face, as if adjusting the glasses she stopped wearing long ago. "Our order is to eliminate her at once."

The door opened, and Koizumi came in. "Good afternoon," he said quietly with a tired voice.

"Koizumi. You look like you haven't slept all night."

Koizumi looked terrible. His eyes were red and swollen, he had bags under them, and his hair was all messed up. He let out a big yawn and took a seat.

"Been partying hard?"

"Unfortunately, no," he forced his face to smile. "There has been an emergency at night. A Closed Space had appeared, and it was swarmed with Celestials. Our entire Organization spent all night fighting them. Nothing like that has ever happened before."

"That's terrible, Koizumi-kun," sympathetically said Asahina-san, putting tea leaves and pouring boiled water in the teapot I gave her. "Would you like some tea? It will invigorate you a little."

"I'd appreciate that, Asahina-san," replied Koizumi and turned to me and Nagato. "I've seen Ryoko Asakura at school. Does it mean you have a problem as well, Nagato-san?"

Nagato only nodded without explaining the details, so I decided to do it instead.

"Nagato said someone assaulted her Entity boss' consensus, took Asakura and brought her back here. Someone else is now controlling her."

"I see." Asahina-san gave Koizumi his cup of tea. "Thanks. I need this badly. Well, this is an interesting piece of information."

Come on, Koizumi. You aren't surprised? Not even a little bit?

"I'm sorry," he smiled. "I'm too exhausted to be surprised by anything. But at least I can still think, and what I'm thinking is that these two events – Asakura's return and my recent long fight in the Closed Space – are connected somehow. What this connection is, however, I don't know."

So it's just your intuition. Koizumi sipped his tea and closed his eyes, visibly enjoying the taste.

"Asahina-san, what about you? Have you or your associates had any strange incidents recently?"

"No…" Asahina-san shook her cute head. "Or at least I haven't been informed of anything unusual. But even if I was, it would be classified anyway, so I couldn't tell you if I wanted."

"Then something might happen very soon," said Koizumi. "If…"

"Hold it, Koizumi," I interrupted him. "Let's not overthink things, shall we? We don't know for sure if your situation and Nagato's are connected in any way. Maybe they aren't, and then nothing is going to happen to Asahina-san. You just need some rest, that's all."

"I hope you are right," smiled Koizumi. "We all do, me and other members of the Organization."

Someone knocked on the door. Who could it be? Not Haruhi, she'd just enter without knocking. I stood up and opened.

"Oh… Good afternoon."

"To you as well," the visitor nodded. "Where's your club leader? I have an important matter to discuss with her."

It was the student council president, a third year student who was appointed thanks to Koizumi's Organization's meddling. This tall guy with shiny glasses and strict look on his face has given us some trouble in the past. As it turned out, he did it for the purpose of keeping Haruhi busy and entertained, so she wouldn't cause any disaster out of boredom. Yep, the president of our school's student council is nothing more than a pawn of Koizumi's Organization. He seems to know the truth about the SOS Brigade and its members, however, although this wasn't ever confirmed or denied.

"If she isn't here, then I have no idea where she might be," I said. "Although I do suspect she's chasing a certain new teacher."

"Hmph." He frowned. "Well, I don't have the time to search through the entire school for her. Just tell her that you guys need a new teacher supervisor."

A what?

"You know the rules," the president shone his glasses at me. "A club is allowed to exist as long as it has five members and a teacher supervisor. Yours used to be Okabe, but he doesn't work here anymore. So if you don't want me to disband your Brigade, hurry up and find yourselves a new supervisor."

"Disband my Brigade, huh?"

Haruhi finally showed up. She looked a lot happier than she did an hour before. She crossed her arms on her chest and gave the president a belligerent look.

"That is correct, Suzumiya-kun," said the president nonchalantly. "Get yourselves a new teacher to supervise your Brigade. You have one week. That is all."

"No problem!" grinned Haruhi. "Without Okabe, I bet our teachers eagerly expect me to choose one of them to be our new supervisor! In fact, I already know who it will be."

"Good for you," nodded the president. "So long, Suzumiya-kun."

Well, that went better than I expected. Haruhi walked in, humming a tune, when she spotted Asahina-san.

"Mikuru-chan!" she grabbed her from behind. "Life is great, don't you think?"

"Y-y-yes, of course it is. Kya!" Asahina-san let out a squeak when Haruhi bit her ear. Man, she really is in a good mood. Good news, Koizumi, looks like you will have a fine rest tonight.

"You also look lovely today, Yuki!" Nagato raised her head from the book she was reading and stared at Haruhi. "Koizumi, can't say the same about you. Have you had a bad night?"

"To put it mildly," smiled Koizumi. "You can't imagine the nightmare I had."

"Well, then I will let you go home earlier today!" Haruhi stopped near the whiteboard. "In fact, all of you can go home once I tell you what we are going to do."

I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Why in the world is she so happy and benevolent today? Is this even the real Haruhi, not some evil alien impostor?

"Attention!" Haruhi grabbed a marker. "This month, the SOS Brigade is going to participate in a cosplay contest! And we are going to win it!"

With a smile brighter than the sun she wrote on the board:

_SOS Brigade – Cosplay Contest_

_Haruhi Mikuru Yuki Itsuki Kyon_

"The contest will take place on September 17th, and we should have enough time to come up with the ideas on who is going to cosplay as who and making costumes. Personally, I would like to cosplay as Commander Shepard from Mass Effect. Anyone else wants to join in and choose a character from there?"

Wow, I had no idea you were actually into that kind of stuff. When did you even had the time to play Mass Effect? Haruhi wrote "Commander Shepard" under her name.

"Excuse me, but what is Mass Effect?" asked Asahina-san.

"Let me explain," suggested Koizumi. "It's a well-known video game made in Canada. It has a story about an elite soldier's adventures in the future, featuring traveling in space, advanced technology, aliens and ancient evil robots which exterminate all life in our galaxy every 50,000 years. Mass Effect was praised for its ability to let the player choose how the plot progresses, resulting in very different outcomes. The Commander Shepard, mentioned by Suzumiya-san, is the main character and potentially the greatest hero in the galaxy, depending on your choices."

"I see you are well familiar with the subject," smiled Haruhi. "Would you like to cosplay as someone from Mass Effect? Maybe as Garrus Vakarian?"

I think Kaidan Alenko would suit him better.

"I'm not really into sci-fi, so I think I'm gonna pass," replied Koizumi. "I'd rather choose a manga or an anime character."

"What about you, Kyon?" asked Haruhi, pointing the marker at me. "Do you prefer anything? Better say it now, or I may deny you the choice and pick a character for you myself."

No need to be so hasty!

"If I cosplayed as anyone, that would be a Star Wars character. Maybe young Obi-Wan or Han Solo…"

"Good idea!" Haruhi wrote "Obi-Wan" and "Han Solo" under "Kyon". "I'll let you think about it some more and choose the one you like the best. Your turn, Yuki. Have you ever cosplayed?"

"I played an evil alien witch in The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina movie."

"Yes, that counts," nodded Haruhi. "Would you like to put an evil witch's robes again?"

"No."

Nagato remained silent for a moment.

"Rei Ayanami."

"Rei Ayanami?" Haruhi tasted these words. "An interesting choice. It also fits you quite well! Rei Ayanami it is."

Now it was Asahina-san's turn. Haruhi stared at her, waiting til she speaks.

"I…" Asahina-san didn't know what to say. "I need to think about it. I'm not very well familiar with cosplay at all…"

Haruhi gave her another bright smile.

"Don't worry, I give you all the time in the world! That is, until tomorrow. You should make up your mind really soon so we could start preparing the costumes. Okay everyone, that's it for today! Koizumi, do get a good sleep or you'll be punished!"

"Yes, Suzumiya-san."

* * *

Later that night, my cell phone rang and woke me up. What the… An unknown number. Who the hell is this?

"Hello?"

I heard nothing in response. Is this a prank? Someone has too much free time on their hands, it seems.

"Kyon!" suddenly said a voice when I was about to hang up and resume my sleep. It was Asahina-san's voice.

"Asahina-san?" I jumped on my bed. The last time she called me at night, she discovered a time loop and was brought to tears, but she wasn't crying now. She did sound worried, though. "What happened?"

"It's Koizumi-kun. He is in trouble! Meet us at the north station where we always gather. Please hurry!"

Good grief. Here goes my peaceful slumber. What did Koizumi get himself into?


	4. Chapter 3: Blindfold

_**Chapter 3. Blindfold**_

Why does all unpleasant stuff happen in the middle of the night? Is it true what they say about evil things lurking in the darkness and waiting for their time to come? And why is it always me, or rather us, the SOS Brigade, who have to take the hit? "Spreading excitement all over the world?" I'm not excited at all, not in the slightest!

I squeezed all the speed from my poor bike I could. Koizumi, of all people, was in danger. Did Asakura attack him? Or did something else happen to him? Urgh, Asahina-san, you could've been more specific! This uncertainty is much more disturbing than anything else, even the fact that I was worried about the annoying esper. I never thought the day would come when I had to go and give him my hand, rather the other way around. I'm the one without powers, so I'm weaker. Although, he doesn't have any powers either, until he enters a Closed Space…

"Kyon!" I saw Asahina-san standing on the station, waving at me. Nagato was by her side, watching as I approached and hit the brakes. A taxi was also here. Are we going for a ride? Why couldn't they pick me up at my place?

"Asahina-san, Nagato", I took a moment to catch my breath. "What's going on? Where is Koizumi?"

"We aren't sure." The time traveler was about to panic. "It's something about Koizumi-kun being trapped in a Closed Space. Arakawa-san can explain better."

"Arakawa-san?"

"Good evening, everyone." A familiar face looked out of the taxi's window. Of course. It was Arakawa, a member of Koizumi's Organization. When we went to a lone island one year ago, we stayed at Keiichi Tamaru's mansion. In order to keep Haruhi amused, Keiichi-san's murder was faked so she could try herself as an investigator. Arakawa assumed the role of a butler working for Keiichi-san. That's how we first met him… Or rather how Haruhi, Nagato and Asahina-san first met him, but that's too many details already. "Get in, I am taking you to Koizumi-san's place. I'll explain the situation on the way there."

Okay… But what should I do with my bike?

"I can help you." Nagato put her hand on my bike's handle, and it suddenly vanished from my sight. "I have put it in a pocket dimension for the time being. I will return it to you on your first request."

Wow. "Thanks, Nagato. You and Asahina-san take the seats in the back, I'll take the front one."

We got inside the taxi and shut the doors. Arakawa started the engine and took off.

"What happened to Koizumi?" I asked him.

"We aren't sure ourselves," Arakawa replied. "We sensed that a Closed Space had appeared right where Koizumi-san lives and went there to investigate. While we could find the borders of the space, we didn't manage to get inside it. Koizumi-san is out there on his own."

"I thought you espers were special for being able to enter Closed Spaces. What changed?"

"We don't know. But we can tell that we are dealing with no ordinary Closed Space. Not just because we can't enter, but also because Koizumi-san's body is still in his house, lying there unconscious. It's not supposed to be like this. Either you enter a Closed Space physically, or not at all."

"What does that mean? If Koizumi's body is in this world, what is trapped in the Closed Space? His mind?"

"Precisely. And that's not the worst part."

"Then what is?"

Arakawa stopped the car near a house which looked quite a lot like mine.

"You should see it for yourselves. Be prepared, the view is very unnerving."

When we left the taxi, I could see lights in Koizumi's place and hear voices inside. The entire Organization must be here. Asahina-san looked nervous like the first time she saw Nagato, or when she had to be left alone with her. Seems like her own faction isn't on the best terms with Koizumi's. I know they aren't enemies, but there must be a reason Asahina-san feels so uncomfortable. And I'm sure it is because of Koizumi's associates' presence, not of whatever we were about to face.

"Hey." I allowed myself to take her hand. "It's going to be all right. Don't be afraid."

She looked surprised, but didn't pull her hand out of mine. I turned my eyes to Nagato. Stoic and calm, as always. But I knew her better than that, so I took her hand as well, earning a strange look from her. I guess it was supposed to be surprised, too, but Nagato couldn't show emotions properly.

"No matter what happens, we deal with it together," I said to them, trying to sound confident. This behavior wasn't like me at all, but the situation was unusual. It was just the three of us, and I was the only man, so I think I'm supposed to be strong and protect the girls from anything. At least Asahina-san, because Nagato can handle herself better than the rest of the Brigade combined.

The entrance door opened.

"Thank God you've arrived." It was a woman in her early forties. "Please come in, we've been waiting for you. I'm Hotaru Koizumi."

"Nice to meet you." We introduced ourselves as we entered. "Are you Koi- I mean, Itsuki's mother?"

"I am," replied the woman. "And I know your names. Itsuki holds each one of you in high regards. No wonder he asked for the three of you to help him."

"He did?" We made it into the living room. "But Arakawa-san told us he's been lying unconscious since he got stuck in the Closed Space. Oh…" Perhaps I shouldn't have said that. Hotaru Koizumi noticed I stopped short.

"It's all right. It's not like I don't know what's going on here. I am an esper as well, after all, and so is my husband. You could say it runs in the family, although we are the first espers in both of our bloodlines. All thanks to Haruhi Suzumiya."

It didn't escape my attention that the last statement sounded bitter.

"Don't get me wrong," said Hotaru. "Haruhi Suzumiya is a remarkable person who will most certainly play an important role in this world's history… But if it wasn't for her, Itsuki wouldn't…"

Now she was about to cry, and I didn't want to see this. I wish I could calm her down, but I didn't feel like I was the right person to do that. She restrained herself, however.

"Koizumi-san," spoke Asahina-san. "What were you saying about Itsuki calling for help?"

"Yes," said Hotaru, taking a deep breath. "My husband and I were the first ones to notice there was a Closed Space covering our home. When we found Itsuki, he was comatose for the first half an hour… Until he opened his eyes and begged us to call his friends – you, Kyon-kun and Nagato-san. And then he fell unconscious as suddenly as he awoke."

I imagine how creepy the whole thing was. Especially since he is their son, and they have every reason to worry. I doubt he just said in his usual manner, smiling and being polite, "Could you please call my friends Kyon, Nagato-san and Asahina-san to come over and give me a hand?" I bet there was less smiling and more… screaming, maybe.

"So where is he?" I asked.

"He is in his bedroom." We followed Hotaru upstairs. "My husband and others are treating his injuries."

"Injuries?"

We stopped before a door that apparently led to Koizumi's bedroom. Hotaru opened, letting us in.

"My God!"

The smell of blood hit my nostrils. It was splattered all over the room – on the floor, on the walls, on the windows, even on the ceiling. It's almost as if someone was brutally murdered here… no, no, I mustn't even think such a thing. Asahina-san screamed in horror and huddled up to me.

"Holy…!" A group of five people were startled by it. They gathered near Koizumi who was lying in his bed… unconscious, as Arakawa said, and shirtless. His torso and arms were covered in bandages, soaked in blood here and there. I gulped at the view and turned to the other people here.

"Mikuru Asahina?" A man who resembled Koizumi a lot, albeit thirty years older, looked at us with suspicion. "All three of you, in fact? Arakawa-san, what is the meaning of this? I told you to bring just Yuki Nagato here."

"My apologies, Daichi-san," bowed Arakawa to Koizumi's father. "Nagato-san agreed to cooperate with us on one condition, and it was to bring Itsuki's friends along."

"Condition, you say…" Daichi Koizumi worked his jaws. "Well, it doesn't really matter. Nagato-san is the only one who can be of use now. As long as the other two don't get in the way, I don't mind."

I get this strange gist that we are not welcome here. Me and Asahina-san, to be precise. Sad truth is, Koizumi's father was actually right, despite his attitude. I am a regular human, and Asahina-san is forbidden to carry any weapons, so that leaves just Nagato to save the day.

Then I realized the true meaning of what Daichi Koizumi said. Nagato refused to come alone. She could've done as Daichi wanted, but she wanted me and Asahina-san to accompany her. Not just for Koizumi's sake, but because she knew we mattered to him.

And because we mattered to her as well.

I felt growing fondness for Nagato. She sure knows how to warm my heart. Nagato, I don't know if you realize it or not, but these small acts of kindness are what make you more of a human rather than an alien. A memory of that smile of hers visited my mind. After what I've just heard, I was positive that I will see it again one day.

The smell of blood and Arakawa's voice pulled me back into reality.

"I called Nagato-san and asked her to meet me at the north station," explained Arakawa to me. "After I finished my story, she asked that you and Asahina-san join us, so I lent her my cell phone. That's what Daichi-san was talking about."

Aha. So the call that woke me up was from Arakawa's phone. Asahina-san got to the station first and called me afterwards. Or rather Nagato called me, and she spoke to me instead due to her superior communication skills. Oh Nagato.

"Koizumi-san," I said to Daichi. "If you want Nagato to help Itsuki, then you should tell us what exactly is happening to him."

"You've probably already heard everything from Arakawa-san and Hotaru." Daichi looked at me from behind his shoulder, as if I wasn't really worth his attention. "I don't have much more to add. We are tending to Itsuki's wounds, but new ones appear every few minutes."

"Y-you mean someone is hurting him even as we speak?" asked Asahina-san.

Koizumi twitched on his bed, and a red trickle splattered from his cheek. A deep cut appeared on his face right before our eyes, and he stopped moving as suddenly. Daichi quietly cursed through his teeth, and Hotaru pushed me out of her way to wipe the blood from her son's face. There's your answer, Asahina-san.

"Needle and thread, now!" said Daichi.

"You're going to sew that cut?"

"Aren't you insightful, Kyon-kun?" he shook his head, visibly annoyed. "Unless you stop being useless, I'll do what I have to do! Well, Nagato-san, what are you waiting for? Do what you're here for!"

"Understood." She looked at me at Asahina-san. "Come with me."

"Wait!" I put my hand on her shoulder. "What is our plan, anyway?"

"We enter the Closed Space and find Itsuki Koizumi. Then I bring him and us back into this world."

Daichi sat near Koizumi, holding the needle and thread.

"Do it quickly so I can finally begin to treat this cut."

"Please," whispered Hotaru. She turned to us, and I saw her eyes were already wet. "Just save our son."

Nagato nodded and walked to Koizumi's bed. She took my hand, and I understood what she was going to do, so I took Asahina-san's hand in my own. Nagato raised her free hand, a fast-paced stream of words erupted from her mouth, forming a reality-affecting "incantation"… and then, everything went dark.

"What?"

I blinked, but it didn't help – I still couldn't see a thing. I opened my eyes as wide as I could. Nothing changed. But I still felt Nagato and Asahina-san's hands, so…

"Did it work?" I looked around and saw the girls didn't go anywhere. I saw them clearly, as if they were standing under a bright sunlight… only there was no sun in this pitch black dimension. Nothing was here, except us. I could also see my own body. But where is Koizumi?

"It worked," said Nagato. "We have entered the Closed Space. However, I cannot sense Itsuki Koizumi anywhere here."

"What do you mean? He's not here? Is this – this can't be another trap set just for us, can it?"

In response I heard Nagato's fast-forwarded speech again.

"Error: access denied."

"Nagato-san…" the voice to the right of me was anxious. "Why did you just say that?"

"My attempt to manipulate the data in this space has failed. Its creator restricted the ability to tamper with it to themselves only."

"You mean you're powerless here?" Just where the hell did we end up now?! "Koizumi!"

I wasn't afraid anymore. I was angry. Angry at whoever dragged Koizumi into this nightmare. Angry at whatever stopped Nagato from using her powers. Angry at everything that made Asahina-san tremble with fear. I could feel anger growing inside me, quickly becoming something more, and now I was filled with fury. I let go of the girls' hands and ran, disregarding that I couldn't see a thing in this darkness, that I could stumble upon anything in it, that there could be deadly traps just waiting for me to tread on them. And then…

"KYON!" shouted Asahina-san. I turned around and didn't believe my own eyes. She and Nagato have vanished. "Kyon! Where have you gone?"

"Asahina-san!" But I could still hear her. I ran back, hoping that I would see her again, and suddenly she and Nagato popped out of nowhere just where I left them.

"It appears we need to keep a close distance between us in order not to lose sight of each other," calmly said Nagato. So that's how it is. This darkness hides things from view when they are too far. Maybe there is still hope. Maybe we can find Koizumi.

"Hey!" I yelled in the emptiness. "Koizumi! Can you hear me? Say something!"

"Kyon?" Yes! It was his voice, but it reached me from somewhere far away. "Kyon, is that you?"

"It's me! And I'm here with Nagato and Asahina-san!" I grabbed their hands again, ready to move as soon as I figure out which direction Koizumi's voice was coming from. "Look, if you can't see us, then shout as loud as you can! In this space, you can only see things that are close to you! So help us find you!"

"I'M RIGHT HERE! AAARRRGH!" That was a scream of pain. Oh no. We have to hurry!

"We're coming!" I think I could tell where he was. I followed the sound of Koizumi's screams, not letting go of Asahina-san and Nagato. The three of us ran as fast as we could, as his voice was getting closer and closer. And then the screaming stopped.

"Koizumi!" I heard a groan.

"Kyon, please…" Koizumi coughed. "I can't hold much longer…"

"Hang on!" I wonder if he can die here. The espers did everything to stop the blood, but normally, the shock from wounds like the ones that had to be underneath the bandages should be enough to kill anyone. Guess things must work different when your body suffers indirectly, through your mind.

I could hear the heavy cough a few steps away from me. And then I saw him. Koizumi looked as bad here as he did in the real world, but this time he didn't have any bandages on him and all his bleeding wounds were exposed. There also was a freshly-looking gaping hole in his chest. The thing that did this to him must have inflicted it just now.

"Kyon… Nagato-san, Asahina-san…" Koizumi was lying on the ground or whatever it was, all beaten up and cut open. "You've come…"

"Of course we have." I tried to help him up, but he could barely stand. "Nagato, get us out of here!"

Nagato fired another stream of accelerated speech, but nothing happened. We were still in this empty darkness.

"Error: access denied."

"Damn it!" I couldn't bear the thought we couldn't get out. There had to be a way! "Wait… Maybe if we defeat whatever is attacking Koizumi, this space will dissolve like the last time, when we fought that camel cricket!"

"I cannot manipulate data in this Closed Space," reminded me Nagato. "You and Mikuru Asahina don't possess the required abilities to fight the attacking creature. Itsuki Koizumi's injures make him unable to fight as well."

"No!" I shouted. I refused to give up. After meeting with Koizumi's family, I knew I couldn't let them down. I couldn't let their only child die on my hands. "Koizumi! Use your powers to destroy that evil thing!"

"I tried," he coughed blood again. "But each attack I used on it has missed. I can't hurt it if I can't even tell where it is now or where it's coming from."

"You are an esper! You are supposed to be in your element here!" Now I was mad because he was giving up too easily. I may have no powers, but I've got bigger balls than you, Koizumi! "What kind of esper are you if you can't even see things with your third eye?"

"The third eye is but a myth." His voice was fading. "It isn't possible…"

"Idiot!" I slapped him in the face, prompting him to look at me. "Do you remember who gave you your powers? Do you remember that the one you have to thank for them doesn't care if something isn't possible or is beyond her reach? She just makes it happen no matter what!"

"Kyon!" exclaimed Asahina-san. "If you stand too close to Koizumi-kun, that monster will hurt you as well!"

I know, Asahina-san. I could feel time was running short. The unseen creature was about to attack again, and I would be getting in its way.

"She is right… Let go of me, Kyon."

"Like hell!" I grabbed Koizumi tightly to help him stand on his feet. "Listen to me, Koizumi! Dig into whatever power Haruhi bestowed upon you and use it as I've told you! Sense the presence of this monster, and once you do, hit it as hard as you can!"

Koizumi said nothing. Instead, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but then he started coughing blood again. The girls were watching me trying to reignite Koizumi's spirit. Asahina-san was stunned, and I could see in Nagato's eyes that she wanted my ranting to take effect and boost his morale.

"They believe in you, Koizumi," I spoke quietly into his ear. "As do I. Now it's time for you to believe in yourself. Fight!"

He opened his eyes and raised his arm. Flames flickered on his fingertips, glowing brighter and growing bigger with every second. The tiny flames shaped into a fireball, and then Koizumi kicked me in my stomach with his elbow. I released my hold of him, and he disappeared from my sight again.

"Koizumi!"

The sound of loud explosion nearly shattered my eardrums. Asahina-san screamed, covering her ears. Although it did sound like an explosion, I didn't see one, and I had no idea what just happened. Then I heard heavy breathing somewhere near.

"What is that… light?" whispered Koizumi. A cracking sound pierced this creepy place. The darkness of the Closed Space dissolved, and we found ourselves back in Koizumi's bedroom, surrounded by espers. I squinted to protect my eyes from the bright lamp.

"You've returned!" said Daichi's voice. "Did you do it? Is Itsuki all right?"

"Yes… father." Koizumi let out another nasty cough. "I'm… fine."

"You did it!" Hotaru couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears. "You saved him! T-Thank you so much!"

Arakawa sighed, as if he couldn't believe it was over. But one of the espers suddenly got a troubled look on her face, and then her eyes were wide open. She covered her mouth, gasping, and I realized something was wrong. Oh no.

Koizumi had a blank look on his face and didn't move. A sudden realization of what was about to happen hit my mind. A terrible thought slowly squirmed inside my head, shaping into words that conveyed meaning. Before it was over, Koizumi's coughing stopped, and so did his breath.

"Itsuki?" croaked Daichi. But Nagato stepped in and placed her hand on Koizumi's forehead. Five second of absolute fright have passed in silence… and Koizumi gasped for air once again, his breath returning to normal.

"Itsuki Koizumi will fully recover from his wounds before dawn," said Nagato, removing her hand. "Until then, he needs to sleep."

"I…" Daichi sighed with relief and smiled gratefully, looking five years younger. His wife fell on his shoulder, shaking and crying with joy. "We can never repay you for what you've done for us, Nagato-san. We… I am in your debt."

"Don't thank me." Nagato's eyelids lowered by a millimeter. "It is not because of me Itsuki Koizumi was able to destroy the creature that attacked him in the Closed Space and free himself." She headed for the exit. "And I did not do this for you."

Nagato left the room, leaving me and Asahina-san here. That was kinda harsh, Nagato. But those words were exactly as my thoughts. Still thinking of us as we were dead weight… Koizumi would certainly disapprove it.

"What happened there?" asked Hotaru, raising her head. "How did you get Itsuki out?"

I frowned.

"I'm sure he can explain everything better than us. He's been there for a longer time, after all." I bowed, and Asahina-san did the same. "If you excuse us, we have to leave now."

"I'll drive the three of you home," stepped forward Arakawa. "It's the least we can do for you."

Fine. Just get us out of this place, Arakawa-san. When I get home, I'll have to take a shower.


	5. Chapter 4: Koizumi's New Power

_**Chapter 4. Koizumi's New Power**_

When the morning came, I found out that my little sister saw me sneaking out of home during the night. As usual, that annoying brat woke me up, took Shamisen in her hands and said with the most innocent smile that she knows about my little night ride and is going to tell our parents. I promised to buy her a bag of sweets if she keeps quiet about it. I could swear the cat was giving me a criticizing look when my sister left the room carrying him in her clutch and chanting a song. Yeah, the last thing I need is my house pet judging me. Stow that nonsense, Shamisen.

And yes, Nagato did give me my bike back. When I remembered about her pocket dimension thing, I asked Arakawa to drop me at the north station, and after Nagato was done, he took the girls back home. It wasn't until I returned to my place that I realized I may have missed my chance to see where Asahina-san lives. Not that it matters to me, I just, er… you know, would be nice to know it. Just in case.

I even managed to get a decent sleep after our little adventure. I hope Koizumi will be fine, too. And I also hope nothing weird happens today and the following night. He deserves a day off.

* * *

"Good morning!" said someone behind me when I was walking up the hill our school stood on. I turned around and saw Asakura following me. I think I was getting used to her presence and her cheerful smile, despite the fact that I didn't feel glad about it.

"Hi."

"Kyon, there's something we need to talk about," said the rogue alien. I frowned.

"And what is it?"

"I can't say right now. But could you spare me some time after the classes finish? Or after you are done with your club activities today. It's important."

"Asakura." I stopped. "Do you think I'll have any business with you ever again? After everything you've done to me?"

"Well…" She twirled her hair on a finger. "That's one of the things I would like to discuss with you."

"No."

I resumed walking.

"Please?"

I said nothing.

"Kyon, wait!" Asakura grabbed my elbow, and I pulled it away.

"Leave me alone!"

"Don't you want to know why I have returned?" Asakura caught up with me and walked by my side. "And don't you think I may have something to do with Itsuki Koizumi's recent troubles?"

I stopped again and stared at her with anger growing inside me.

"So it was you who attacked him?"

"I never said that," coquettishly smiled Asakura. "I merely said the thought may have occurred to you."

"Tell me. Was it you or not?"

"See, you are already curious!" laughed Asakura. "So how about waiting for me after school? We could talk about that and more."

If it wasn't for all the history I shared with Asakura, it would look like she was asking to hang out with me. Considering I wanted to confront her about her reappearance yesterday but didn't have the guts to do it, I should be ashamed the girl made the first move. But accepting her offer could be a death warrant for me… On the other hand, though…

"I'll think about it. But I promise nothing."

"I'll be waiting for you at the school gate." She winked at me. "Gotta go now. I'll see you in class!"

And with those words, she ran off up the hill. Good grief, it reminded me of those innocent days when the high school just started for me. I knew nothing about aliens, time travelers and espers, and Asakura was just a beautiful girl with a friendly personality to me. AA+. They say ignorance is bliss, and now I agree with it wholeheartedly.

But I've made up my mind about it a long time ago. There's no way I quit the mess Haruhi stirred. No matter how annoying, irritating or dangerous it might be, I will be by her side and accept everything my destiny throws at me. Even if it's homicidal aliens or invisible monsters, I've made my choice. Haruhi, Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina-san are more than just my friends. I think I could call each one of them my nakama.

"Hey, nakama," I said to Haruhi while hanging my backpack on the desk hook when I arrived at class. Let's see how she reacts.

"Huh?" She cupped her chin in hands. "What did you just call me?"

"Don't tell me you don't know the meaning of the word," I smirked.

"I know what nakama means, dumbface," she leered at me. "What's the occasion? Why did you call me that?"

I made a sad face.

"Does it mean you don't feel the same way about me, after all we've been through? Now I'm hurt."

"Stop acting weird," sighed Haruhi. "Since all I get from you is whining and disobeying me, I can hardly think so well of you."

"Awww, Haruhi," I put my hands on my heart. "I knew you cared!"

"Quit acting like an idiot or I will punch you! And drop that stupid grin off your face!"

The lesson began, and I took my seat, turning my back to Haruhi. Ah, that felt good. Why don't I do this more often?

* * *

I was still in a festive mood when I was strolling to the clubroom later that day. Thinking about more things that I might say to annoy Haruhi, I couldn't forget what upsetting her could mean for Koizumi. It's never easy with that girl. You can't even play on her nerves without causing problems. It totally ruins all the fun.

"Come in!" said Asahina-san's voice when I knocked. Having got my permission to enter, I opened the door to find her, Nagato and Koizumi inside. The esper greeted me with a smile. He didn't have any wounds or scars on his face, which was a good sign.

"Hello, Kyon."

"Hey, nakama," I decided to try it on him as well. Koizumi let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, I could say the same thing to you. Please take a seat. I have some news you'll want to hear, nakama."

"Alright," I did as he asked, and immediately, Asahina-san brought me a cup of fresh hot tea. I thanked her with a big smile and got another one from her in return. I wish my eyes were photo cameras so I could carve the image of this smile of hers into my brain forever. Ah, this peaceful moment was perfect. "What is it, Koizumi?"

"First of all, I wanted to thank you for the last night." He put his fingertips together. "Your advice played a really important role and turned the tide of my battle. The monster's strength was in being unseen, and once I could finally detect it, a single successful attack was enough to destroy it. You have my thanks for your help, as well as my parents'. You've even earned some respect from my father."

"You're welcome, Koizumi. I'm just glad you're alive and well." I sipped some tea as he continued.

"I managed to do exactly as you said: tapped into the depth of my powers and wished to see my attacker. My wish was granted. I saw that creature; or rather I saw an aura that surrounded it. That is what let me fight back and win. However, that victory led to another problem, although I wouldn't call it really serious. It's simply… uncomfortable."

Enough with your fancy talk, just spit it out already.

"Our powers can only be used while inside a Closed Space. In this reality we aren't any different from regular humans who don't have any supernatural abilities. But… this doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Ever since I woke up this morning, I could see auras of all living beings, humans and animals alike, and even plants."

"Wow. And you said the third eye was a myth."

"It's not anymore," smiled Koizumi. "Thanks to you, I have gained this new power, but I can't make it go away. It's always there, and it's causing me discomfort. All this colorful glow, and it's surrounding everyone. It's very distracting, and in crowded places like here at school it is almost unbearable."

He was saying all this with his usual smile, making me think he wasn't being serious. But don't you try to make me feel bad because of it, Koizumi. I'm not the one who gave this power to you, I merely helped you use it. And it also saved your life.

"I'm not being ungrateful," Koizumi was surprised. "On the contrary, I am glad it turned out I had this power. What I'm trying to tell you that it's not normal for esper powers to work outside the Closed Spaces. This is an unprecedented event."

"Is this the part where I should be in awe?"

"Like I said, I am simply sharing the news with you," Koizumi's smile was strained now. "It is only fair that you should know the outcome of our recent battle. There is one last detail. Before the Closed Space dissolved, I saw something else. I believe it was somebody's aura, and if I am correct, then it belonged to the one who set the monster on me. I should also note that the aura didn't belong to a regular human. I have noticed that humans have different auras than Humanoid Interfaces like Nagato-san or espers like myself and my parents. Even Asahina-san has a special aura of a human from the future." He leaned on the table, moving closer to me. "But this aura was something completely different. Whoever possesses it is none of those things."

"Then what was that person? Was it even a person at all?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know," shrugged Koizumi. "But I have the feeling that we haven't seen the last of that mysterious being. If I encounter it ever again, then hopefully my new ability will give me an advantage."

"I bet it's too much to hope that it won't bother you or us anymore."

"Probably so."

The door slammed open.

"Ta-dah!" Naturally, it was Haruhi, emitting cheeriness and happiness. "Hi everyone! I've brought a guest! Allow me to introduce you…"

We turned our faces to her. Indeed, she was holding someone's wrist, and the person she was dragging inside the clubroom was…

"Takahiro Shiraki!"

"Good afternoon," greeted us with a smile my new homeroom teacher.

"Sensei!" I stood up, but Shiraki dismissed me with a nod of his head.

"Welcome to the headquarters of the SOS Brigade!" Haruhi let go of Shiraki's hand and spread her arms, showing him the place. "These are my Brigade members. You already know Kyon; the girl with the book is Yuki Nagato, the girl in the maid outfit is Mikuru Asahina, and the guy with the weird look and pale face is Itsuki Koizumi."

Weird look? Pale face? I turned my head to Koizumi and shuddered. He was staring at Haruhi with a look of absolute horror, and every drop of blood left his face.

"Koizumi, what's wrong?"

"It's… it's nothing, nevermind." Koizumi tried to smile, but it was the most terrible smile he ever made.

"Come on!" Haruhi leaned over him, and Koizumi closed his eyes and gulped. "Tell me! Have you had a bad night again?"

"Well, actually, yes," he turned his head away from her. "I've had another nightmare last night. Don't worry, Suzumiya-san. It was just a silly dream."

"Hmph," Haruhi frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, maybe you should do something about it. If you have nightmares so intense that they can scare you even in the middle of the day, you probably need to visit a therapist."

"Yeah." Koizumi nodded. "I'll consider it. Thank you for your advice, Suzumiya-san."

"Well, that was kinda awkward, Shiraki-sensei," Haruhi turned to our guest and smiled like nothing happened. "Let's get straight to business, shall we? What do you think about my Brigade?"

"This place surely looks lovely." Shiraki glanced over the room and all the things in it. His eyes stopped at Asahina-san. "Mikuru Asahina? My, you haven't changed a bit!"

"Excuse me?" our moe character tilted her head. "Do I know you, sensei?"

Shiraki put his hands behind his back.

"I don't suppose you remember me. We ran into each other in the West Junior High school a few years ago. I used to be a teacher there back in those days."

"Umm… I'm sorry, Shiraki-sensei, but I don't recall meeting you before."

"It's okay." Shiraki didn't seem upset a bit. "That was a brief encounter anyway. What matters that you are in this school now and also a member of Suzumiya-san's club. That's one reason I'm here; Suzumiya-san wants me to make a decision. Am I right?"

"Of course you are! Mikuru, why are you standing there? Make some tea for our guest!"

"Um, sure!" Asahina-san poured some tea in a cup. Shiraki walked up to her.

"You don't have to cater me, Asahina-san," he said to her when she was about to put the cup on a tray. "Let me just take it from you. I bet it's also hot."

"Yes," she smiled as he took the cup from her hands. "Thank you, Shiraki-sensei."

"No, thank you, Asahina-san," Shiraki tasted the drink. "Because your tea is delicious. You've got a talented member in your Brigade, Suzumiya-san. I'm ready to decide. Just let me ask you a question. What is the purpose of the SOS Brigade?"

Oh no. If Haruhi tells him the truth, it won't end well. But there's nothing in the world that could stop her from doing what she is determined to do, so a big grin appeared on her face, and she said:

"The SOS Brigade's ultimate goal is to find aliens, time travelers and espers and hang out with them! That's what we are all about!"

"I see." Shiraki sipped some more of Asahina-san's wonderful tea. It seems whatever she puts in it can prevent a person from objecting after hearing such nonsense. Of course, I know better, but Shiraki shouldn't. "Well, that is an interesting goal, one that I definitely approve. The world would be a better place with the things you are looking for, Suzumiya-san. Very well," he put his cup on the table for the time being, "I agree to be the club's new supervisor teacher."

So that's why Haruhi brought him here! You know, I thought Shiraki was better than this. I totally cannot say he is stupid. So why does he agree to supervise Haruhi's Brigade so easily? Asahina-san, if I find out you put LSD in your tea, you are in big trouble!

"Yay!" Haruhi performed a perfect pirouette, which apparently was her happy dance. "This day just gets better and better! Well, since we've come to an agreement here, let's turn to other matters. Mikuru, Koizumi! Today, you must have decided who you are going to cosplay as on the contest. Who did you choose, Koizumi?"

"Well," the esper looked a little better now. At least blood has returned to his face. "I take a liking to the Bleach manga and anime. I would like to cosplay as Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Isn't that the manga about shinigami with big swords?" asked Haruhi.

"Yes. That's the one."

"Okay!" She wrote "Ichigo Kurosaki" under Koizumi's name on the whiteboard. "What about you, Mikuru?"

"I…" Asahina-san faltered. "May I ask a favor of you, Suzumiya-san? I'd like my cosplay costume to remain a secret until the day the contest takes place."

"Huh?" That request puzzled me as well, Haruhi. On the other hand, I don't mind Asahina-san's costume being a surprise. Why does she want it this way, I wonder? Maybe it's so sexy that she doesn't want to reveal it in Shiraki's presence? "Well, well, Mikuru! It's not a wedding dress we're talking about, I hope? Tee hee!"

Asahina-san in a wedding dress… I'd pay to see that, and I'd pay even more to wear a groom's outfit when standing with her together at the altar! Even Shiraki smiled with a corner of his mouth while still drinking his tea.

"I think it's a great idea! However…" Haruhi walked up to her table and turned on the computer. "As your Brigade leader, I have to know what you have in mind. Can we find what your costume looks like on the Internet?"

"Yes," nodded Asahina-san.

"Come on, show it to me. Kyon, you are not allowed to peek! Yuki, please don't look either."

The alien girl didn't even move, reading her book and staying indifferent to everything else. Asahina-san typed something and made a few clicks with the mouse.

"There."

"Huuuuh…" Haruhi looked disappointed. Why? What is the costume? Just give me a small hint! "But won't it make you look less feminine? It sure is fancy, but I don't know how it would look on a girl. Maybe if we make it into a leotard, then…" She noticed Asahina-san was shaking her head. "No? Well, if you really want it this way, then it's alright. This will be our secret. I promise it to you." Haruhi held her right hand with her fingers bent, except the pinky one. Asahina-san did the same, hooking up her own pinky finger with Haruhi's. "There! I will not break this promise to you, Mikuru."

Haruhi stretched out in her chair.

"There's one last thing I'd like to ask of you for today, Shiraki-sensei," she straightened up and stood in her Brigade leader pose. "As our supervisor, it is up to you now to finance our club activities. This is a perfect opportunity for you to try yourself in a new role! We need five cosplay costumes before the 17th of September, and that can be done with your help!"

What?! You are asking a teacher – a teacher! - to buy stuff for you? You've got a lot of nerve trying to convince him to do something like that! Shiraki-sensei, please don't take her serious. She's just joking. She doesn't mean it. Please don't get mad…

He finished his tea and placed the cup on the table.

"No."

His aura of friendliness (not the kind only Koizumi can see) evaporated, replaced by disapproval and severity. It felt like the room got darker. Shiraki locked gazes with Haruhi.

"I haven't even assumed the post of your supervisor teacher yet, and you are already overstepping boundaries, Suzumiya-san." He shook his head slowly. I had no idea he could look so intimidating. And with so little effort!

"Supervisor teachers can only finance club activities that are directly related to school life. As I understand, you are going to attend a festival somewhere in the city? You cannot ask me to help you with that. You are on your own there."

Haruhi looked shocked. Despite her impudent request, she absolutely didn't see this coming. How arrogant can she be?

"B-but, sensei…"

"However…" Shiraki frowned. He raised one of his brows and scratched his chin. "I am in good mood today. I'll give you money for one costume. Just one! Consider it my gift to you. Who's it going to be, Suzumiya-san?"

Man, he is generous. If I were him, I'd use that intimidating stance to deny Haruhi any help. She's gone too far this time. Haruhi thought for a moment.

"Mikuru." She put her hand on Asahina-san's shoulder with a guilty look in her eyes. "Let it be Mikuru."

"But you've just promised her that no one will see her costume before the contest," Shiraki curved his eyebrows. "Are you going back on it?"

"No! No, of course not, sensei. It's just…" Haruhi hesitated and blushed. I had to pinch myself to believe my own eyes. Haruhi Suzumiya has met someone who she feels is superior to her? I never thought I'd live to see the day. "I want Mikuru to be the lucky one. Could you do it without seeing what her costume looks like?"

Shiraki sighed, visibly regretting his decision to get involved in this.

"I will do it. You have my word."

"Thank you!" Haruhi smiled coyly. "Brigade, we're done for today. You are dismissed."

Shiraki bowed and left the clubroom. I facepalmed.

"That was really smooth, you know. What were you thinking? How are you going to look into his eyes after this?"

"Shut up and get out of here!" Haruhi waved her arm in an imperative gesture. "Mikuru, take your time to change back into your school uniform. The rest of you… Just leave."

Nagato closed her book and walked out the door. Koizumi and I followed. Once we were outside, the esper approached me. Your face is too close, give me some space!

"This is an emergency," he whispered. "Kyon… The aura I saw last night was hers. Suzumiya-san was in the Closed Space with us."

"What?" I crossed my arms. "What are you talking about?"

"You heard me." Koizumi wasn't smiling anymore, which was a certain sign of a serious situation. "She has the same aura I saw before. That can mean only one thing. She was the one who dragged me in the Closed Space and set that creature on me!"

"But… That's impossible!" I glared at him in disbelief. "Haruhi would never do such a thing. She doesn't even know how to do something like that! Normal Closed Spaces is one thing, but you saw with your own eyes that it was totally different last time! She couldn't have done that by accident, either. You must be mistaken, Koizumi. It wasn't Haruhi."

"No! I know what I saw." He lowered his head and hid his face in his hands. "A unique aura which is nothing like yours, mine or Nagato-san's. I can't believe it…"

Well, then you should understand why I can't believe it either. I turned my eyes to Nagato.

"Does he speak true? Was it really Haruhi who did that to Koizumi?"

"I could not access my data manipulation abilities in the Closed Space we visited last night," replied the alien. "I was unable to do anything to help, and I could not see anything like what Itsuki Koizumi has described. However, it is true that Haruhi Suzumiya has a unique data encryption. It is also correct that at the current moment she does not possess the skill necessary to create Closed Spaces with special properties at will."

Koizumi's fingers spread, revealing an eye.

"So you are saying that Suzumiya-san could not have done it."

"No, she could not."

"Yet at the same time she was the one I saw in the Closed Space."

"Haruhi Suzumiya is unaware of the existence of Closed Spaces," spoke Nagato in monotone. "Therefore, she is unable to enter them at will. It is possible she could have entered that particular Closed Space by accident, but she had been at her home while the incident took place."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Observing Haruhi Suzumiya is my function."

"See, Koizumi? Haruhi was at home. She didn't visit your Closed Space. It was somebody else. Unless…"

Unless it was her. There was indeed a way this could've been her. She could be in two places at once if…

"A different version of Suzumiya-san is present in this world," Koizumi finished my thoughts. "This is the only logical explanation."

I didn't know what to say. Could it really be true? Are there two Haruhis? And one of them tried to kill Koizumi? But why…?

"The presence of a different version of Haruhi Suzumiya, one that is adept in using her abilities, can also explain the return of Ryoko Asakura," said Nagato. "At a substantial level of skill, her power will be capable of seamlessly manipulating data and performing actions beyond the Data Integration Thought Entity's own abilities."

"Which means we are in big trouble." A drop of sweat rolled down Koizumi's face. "If Asakura is under the other Suzumiya-san's control, she will be used for a purpose similar to that creature's… or something worse."

I gulped. I almost forgot: Asakura wanted to meet me after school. She is waiting for me right now. I must not come. But if I don't… what will she do?

"I shared a few words with Asakura this morning." Koizumi and Nagato looked at me breathlessly. "She… well, it seemed like she wanted to spend some time with me today."

"What for?" whipped Koizumi out. "Did she tell you?"

"She said…" I tried to remember her exact words. "She asked me if I was curious why she returned and if she had anything to do with the attack on you. She also said she wanted to discuss the day she tried to kill me. I… I don't know what to expect."

"Don't go." Koizumi was worried by everything we've deduced now. "I don't know why Asakura would warn you about her intent to… talk to you, but abiding by it would be reckless. I'll mobilize all our forces to protect you and your family from her. I'm sure Nagato-san will do the same. Just don't risk your life."

Koizumi's words were very reasonable. But something was off… Indeed, why did Asakura tell me about it beforehand when she could simply use her alien tricks and force me into another dimension like she did the last time? Or she could wait for me anywhere when I was going to school or back home and kill me, and I wouldn't even know what happened. No, Koizumi. Whatever Asakura wants from me, I don't think it involves inflicting harm upon me.

"Koizumi," I said with a calm voice. "Nagato. I thank you for caring so much, but I don't agree with you. If Asakura is somehow connected to the other Haruhi… this might be my chance to find something out. I'm sorry. I'm off to meet with her."

"You can't be serious!" shouted Koizumi. "This is too dangerous! Don't do this!"

"Please. Don't try to stop me. I'm going."

And when I turned around, I felt something grabbed my sleeve from behind. I froze. I looked back and saw Nagato holding the sleeve of my uniform with her fingers. This… this is like the time she was turned into a normal human. I couldn't move. I waited to see what Nagato would do next.

All she did was look into my eyes silently. Her face showed no emotion… but I knew the meaning of this. She didn't want me to go. She didn't want me to put my life on the line for God knows what. Maybe I'm crazy and will only end up being dead.

Maybe.

"I'm sorry, Nagato," I felt a burning sensation in my eyes. "Let me do it. Please. It's worth a try."

She slowly let go of my sleeve and stared at me for a second.

"Say my first name aloud to call me for help if need be."

I nodded. The door to the clubroom opened, and Asahina-san walked out, dressed in her school uniform.

"Did something happen?" She glanced at each one of us. "Why are all of you so troubled?"

"Tell her, Koizumi." I grabbed the tug of my backpack. "I'm on my way. See you."

"Huh?" I could hear Asahina-san's voice worse and worse as the distance between us grew. "Koizumi-kun, what's the commotion?"

"Asahina-san. You should inform your superiors that…"


	6. Chapter 5: An Illusion of Familiarity

_Sorry for the delay. It's not easy to write fanfics when you've got exams to study for. I'm afraid it won't be any better this week or even the following one. I do promise it will eventually stabilize up to two chapters per week. Anyway, here comes..._

* * *

_**Chapter 5. An Illusion of Familiarity  
**_

There she was. Standing near the school gate, as she said she would be. Asakura smiled upon seeing me, as if I was an old friend of hers, a sight for sore eyes. I must be out of my mind if I agreed to do this.

"You've got a funny look on your face, Kyon," she said to me. "Why don't you relax? You look like a man who was sentenced to prison. Ease up a little."

"I'm here, as you asked. What is the matter?"

"So serious." Asakura shook her head lightly. "Let's have a walk. I'd like to take you somewhere."

"Where to, exactly?"

"My place."

That I never expected at all. Asakura is inviting me… to where she lives? But what for? This can't be an attempt to make a pass at me, can it?

"Your place, huh?" A gust of wind hit me in the face. I could smell Asakura's apricot perfume. I don't like how it begins. "Is it still in the same apartment where Nagato lives? And yours is room number 505?"

"I'm surprised you still remember that." Asakura's hair streamed in the wind. "Yes, our destination is the same building Nagato lives in. Does it sound safe enough to you?"

I didn't answer. But I knew the way, and all I could do was start walking, so Asakura just followed. I couldn't say I was scared… but I was feeling uneasy indeed. This seemed all too peaceful not to be a trap. And I was walking straight into it. Good grief.

* * *

We made it in silence, without exchanging a single word. I've been taking a few glances at Asakura when I had a chance in order to try and guess her intentions, maybe even figure out what she's planning to do. As far as I could tell, she wasn't looking at me at all. She seemed absolutely optimistic, not having any heavy thoughts on her mind. A couple of times I could even hear her hum some merry tune. Her mood contrasted with mine, I could tell as much… but little more than that.

She entered the code, opening the entrance, and we went up to the fifth floor via the elevator. This has brought more memories… Last winter, when the human Nagato invited me to her place, Asakura showed up as well with a dinner she cooked. They were good friends in that alternative world, and as Asakura put it, her cooking was the only way to make sure Nagato actually ate something. And when it was time for us to leave, after I saw Nagato's goodbye smile, Asakura and I ended up in an elevator. She asked me if I had any feelings for Nagato and said she would never forgive me if I hurt her friend. So when we stopped before the door with the number 505, I finally broke the silence:

"Asakura, are you friends with Nagato?"

"Huh?" She looked genuinely surprised. "What makes you say that?"

"Well…" How do I say it best? "Did you know Nagato rewrote the world once? In that other reality, you seemed to care a lot about her." You even stabbed me with a knife when I pointed a gun at her.

"Kyon," she chuckled. "Don't be so naїve. When the world changed, so did the people you knew. Whoever you met in those few days were not them. That includes myself and Nagato."

"I guess that's a no."

"Have you forgotten? I almost killed Nagato when she was protecting you. That should say enough about the terms we were on."

"Did you say 'were'?"

"You are perceptive." She rewarded me with a smile. "Of course, I don't suppose her opinion about me has changed. As for me, though… Things are a little bit different now."

"Different how?" I asked. Asakura was busy with the lock. "Well? Tell me."

"Now is not the time for explanations." _CLICK, CLICK, CLICK_. "Hmm… It's jammed. Let's try something else."

Asakura pointed a finger at the door, and it opened, just like that. So you still have your data manipulation tricks, don't you…

"Come in."

"You first." No way I'm turning my back to you.

"As you wish." She vanished inside, leaving me at the doorstep. This is it, the point of no return. If I cross it, I might never go back. If I want to back off like a chicken, now is the time.

_Like a chicken_. Those were the main words. There was no point in questioning myself; I already knew what I've decided. I am not backing off like a chicken! I am a man, and there are people putting their trust in me. I'm going in!

I closed my eyes and, with a deep breath, entered. When I opened them, nothing changed. I was still alive, and everything seemed normal. "_Don't let your guard down_," I said to myself. I took my shoes off and walked inside the room. Asakura wasn't there.

"Um… Asakura?"

"One moment!" I turned to the sound of her muffled voice. Behind me was a wide slide door just like in Nagato's place. "I'm changing. Please wait for a while."

I didn't need to hear that, Asakura. But I think I can spend a few moments to check out your place. I have to admit, I liked what I saw. It was quite pretty.

Near the window was a coffee table, surrounded by chairs. There were five of them. This must mean Asakura brings a lot of guests here at times. A long sofa was in the middle of the room, and a big plasma TV was hanging on the wall right in front of it. But what really caught my eye was the wall opposing the window. A dozen of different paintings and drawings were put on it. I came closer for a better look. One painting showed a beach shore, touched by blue waves of the ocean. Another one depicted a sunny glade in a forest, with a deer and its little children. The third one was a sketch drawing of Asakura herself, in her school uniform. I looked more carefully. Indeed, each drawing had small letters "Ryoko Asakura" in the bottom right corner. So all of them were done by her?..

"See anything you like?" spoke Asakura's voice right into my ear. I almost jumped at it.

"When did you come out? Wait a minute, what are you wearing?"

You know, since the day I met Haruhi, I've seen so many unbelievable things I shouldn't have been surprised at Asakura's outfit so much. But I could never, ever see this coming. I expected her to wear regular clothes; maybe – just maybe – a part of me wanted her to put on something seductive… I would've understood. But this? What Asakura was wearing was sports uniform. And not just any uniform, but a white kimono and a black hakama.

So I stood there, trying to imagine the stupid look that must have showed up on my face. I didn't even notice what Asakura was holding in her hands.

"I've got a set for you, as well. Put these on."

Okay, I'm definitely starting to lose my sanity now.

"Asakura… Now is a good time to tell me what's going on. Why are you giving me a damn kimono?"

"It's not a kimono, Kyon. It's a kendo-gi. Take it and get dressed. I'll be waiting for you in the training hall."

"Training hall?" I watched helplessly as she shoved the clothes into my hands and disappeared behind the slide door. Wait, wait, wait. So that's why she invited me here? For training? Training in what? Kendo-gi… Kendo? Sword fighting?!

No, stop it. Get a hold of yourself. I must remember why I am here. Quit overreacting, Kyon. I came here to get some answers. Asakura wants me to change into clothes like the ones she is wearing now. I still don't see how one thing is connected with the other, but I since agreed to play along, my next step is clear. But this better be worth it.

I left my school uniform on the sofa and started to put on this sports stuff. I've never tried on clothes like that before. I hope I'm not going to embarrass myself if it turns out I've put it on wrong. At least I didn't feel uncomfortable, and the kimono was my size. I mean, the kendo-gi.

So when I moved the door aside, I wasn't surprised to see a big hall which occupied much more space than it could possibly have to fit into the apartment. Indeed, it looked like a dojo – a training hall. Asakura was standing in the middle of the spacious hall, holding a wooden sword in her hand. She wasn't looking cheerful anymore. Now she had a dead serious look on her face… But it wasn't malicious or anything like that. She seemed focused. Determined.

"I hope you won't be mad if we skip all the ritual greetings, relevant to this country's culture and sports traditions," said Asakura. "I didn't bother myself getting familiar with them, anyway. Let's make it as simple as possible. Take a sword from the stand."

To the left of me was a stand on the wall, and it had a dozen of wooden swords on it, all different in length and shape. I picked the one that looked the most normal – an ordinary bokken with a hilt guard. Holding it in my hand felt… right. Somehow I knew any of the other swords wouldn't be an option. But this one will do.

"Now Kyon, listen carefully." Asakura took a stance, pointing her wooden sword at me. "I am going to attack you. You have to parry my blows. Get ready."

"You are insane." I clenched my teeth. I shouldn't have come here after all. "I don't want to play your games, Asakura. Just…"

"Defend yourself!"

I instinctively raised my sword, somehow managing to block the incoming strike. She's so fast! Next moment, a dark brown blur, same color as Asakura's sword, was swiftly approaching my neck. All I could do was move my arms to the right, holding my bokken as tight as I could. The new blow had too much force, and with a loud _clack_ my own sword hit me in my forehead. That hurt!

"You are defeated." The tip of Asakura's sword was one inch away from my throat. I stepped back.

"What was that about? What _is_ all this about?"

"You tell me." Asakura assumed the stance again, preparing for the next round. "Because I should be the one asking you this."

What the hell does she mean by that? In the blink of an eye, her sword was swinging at me again. I parried the blow, but then Asakura vanished from my sight, and I felt her bokken touching my back. This wasn't a full hit. It was just meant to show that I've lost this round, too.

"You aren't putting up too much of a fight, Kyon." I turned my head and saw her deep blue eyes staring at me. That was enough to creep me out. "I expected better of you."

"Stop talking nonsense!" I took the opportunity and swung my sword at her. She blocked it, and the smile I knew all too well appeared on her face again. Now she was just pissing me off. I stepped back and made a thrust, but she just dodged it and thrust her own sword at me. I tried to volt it, but the brown tip still touched my side. Urgh! That's gonna leave a bruise.

"Shouldn't we be wearing some protective armor?" I asked her.

"Normally, we should have been obeying the rules of kendo training," nodded Asakura. "But we can do just fine without them. In fact, any armor would just get in the way of what I'm trying to accomplish."

"The only thing you have accomplished is getting on my nerves." I tried placing my legs in the same stance Asakura was taking. I think this is the right angle… "This isn't even a fair fight. It's the first time I'm…"

"Wrong!" Now I saw it coming, and blocking her strike was much easier this time. Then Asakura's sword reached for my right leg and stopped an inch away from my knee. I think I was supposed to dodge that instead of parrying. "This is not what I want to hear, Kyon. You are missing the point."

"Is there any point to this at all?" She ducked my swing.

"There is!" _Clack, clack, clack! _Before I realized I was able to stop three incoming blows in a row, her sword was pointing at my chest. "You couldn't have been hoping for a normal conversation, could you? Then why have you come?"

"Because…" Swing, thrust, block, dodge, block again… "I want to know the truth!"

Asakura grinned and came around for another attack, holding her sword above her head.

"Why do you want to know it?" I was looking at the tip of her sword again. "Well?"

And when I was about to snap at her, I was surprised to find out that the answer to this simple question wasn't as obvious as I thought. I did want to get the truth out of Asakura, no doubt about that… But what was the point of asking _why_ I wanted to get it? Truth is truth, simple as that. Wait. I suddenly realized what she was talking about. She actually had a point. What am _I_ hoping to achieve here? Why have I come?

"You said you might know something about the attack on Koizumi," I raised my sword. "That's what got me interested."

"Uh-huh." I dodged a thrust and tried to hit her, but she dodged it just as easily. "I did say that, it's true. What of it?"

"Are you telling me it was a lie?"

"I'm not."

"So it's true?" Asakura ducked, avoiding my swing, and I barely managed to lead her next attack astray by a clumsy hit on her sword. She moved to the left, and once again I've lost a round, having her bokken at my neck. "Do you know who tried to kill him?"

"Why do you want to know?"

That stupid question again!

"There must be a reason, Kyon!" Even though it was just a wooden sword, seeing Asakura hold it at my throat was intimidating. How strange… This wasn't like her at all. At this moment, she was neither the class representative nor the creepy psychopath with a knife. She was someone entirely different. These cold deep blue eyes… What are they trying to say?

"Asakura." I lowered my weapon. "Stop it. Let's talk like normal people. This isn't getting us anywhere."

"You are wrong." She stepped away from me. "You have remarkable reflexes for a human. This is a good beginning. I can get to actually teaching you how to use a sword. As soon as you…"

"Look, I'm not here to learn how to fight, okay?" I sat down and put the sword in front of me. "I don't need it. That's not why I'm here. I agreed to meet with you because I wanted to talk to you. And you said you wanted the same thing."

"You still haven't told me the why of it!" She grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up in the air. It was so sudden I forgot how to breathe, let alone move. "How long will I have to wait until you spit it out? Anyone can ask questions, but what do you need the answers for?"

"Because I don't like WHEN MY FRIENDS ARE THREATENED!" I grasped her wrist, trying to break free. "That thing mauled Koizumi so badly Nagato actually had to revive him! A few months ago, that infernal alien Kuyo Suou almost killed Haruhi! The only reason they are alive is sheer luck and coincidence! How am I supposed to feel about that?"

Asakura was silent. Her eyes were still locked on me, but they seemed a little warmer.

"If you answer my questions… If you tell me what I want to know, then maybe there is a chance I can protect them." I kept struggling, but to no avail. "I know I'm merely a human, and they are much more than that. But they are too important to me, and I can't just sit and do nothing when they are in danger."

Asakura let go of me. Her hair fell on her face, covering her eyes. She stood like that for a few seconds, and then she looked at me and smiled. Now she was the class representative again.

"Thank you for telling me." She sat down on the floor. I take it she's calling a break. "You are mistaken if you think it wasn't important. If you are going to fight, you must know what you are fighting for. It's that simple."

Simple my ass. You're still as creepy as ever, Asakura. I sighed and made myself comfortable.

"You could've just asked me that, you know. Why turn it into a kendo training session?"

"I had to test your resolve." She moved a lock of her hair away from her eyes. "There are other reasons as well. I can't tell you everything, Kyon. Not at this moment."

"Why not?"

"I… I made a promise."

She was finally starting to sound interesting.

"To whom?"

"To the one who let me return here, to this world."

Now we were talking. Those words made me really impatient.

"Was it Haruhi? More precisely, was it the one I know or a different version of her?"

Asakura's eyes opened wide, and she looked stunned. I didn't know what that reaction was, but I was waiting for her to answer. Come on…

"Ah..." She lowered her head. "So Koizumi did get a glimpse of his attacker."

"He did. Is his guess wrong?"

"I'm sorry," she shook her head and clenched her fists, clawing into her hakama. "I promised not to reveal the identity of my rescuer. I can neither confirm nor deny whatever ideas you have, no matter how close to the truth they might be."

So… Is it a yes or a no? Is Koizumi's suggestion 'close to the truth', or it just 'might be'? I wanted to keep pressing on the matter, but I could tell Asakura was being sincere with me. There was something new in her eyes, something I've never seen earlier. No surprise about it, though. I've never had a heart talk with her before.

"Alright." I thought about my next question. "Why have you been brought back?"

"Upon my return, I was entrusted with a task. I was asked to teach you how to wield a sword."

"So all this sword fighting stuff was actually necessary?" I couldn't believe my own ears. "What would I need that for?"

Asakura hesitated for a moment.

"All I can say you need to learn how to fight, and the sooner the better. Sorry… Let's move onto the next question, please."

So much for an answer.

"What does Haruhi want? Why is she doing all this?"

"I can't say now."

This is getting tiresome.

"Why not?"

"Because the conditions haven't been met yet."

"What conditions?"

Suddenly, all warmth vanished from Asakura's eyes. They were cold and determined once again. They were the eyes of someone who doesn't broker failure and demands the best from their charge.

"I am allowed to tell you more, but in order for that to happen, you must do one thing. That is, you have to defeat me first."

"Defeat you? Do you mean in combat?"

"Yes. Best me in sword combat, and then I will no longer have to avoid your questions. I will be able to answer them all properly."

"Are you serious?" I glared at her. "It sounds like an impossible thing to do. You are an alien. You are superior to me, and not just physically…"

"To clarify, I am not and will not be using my data manipulation abilities," said Asakura. "What you have seen were my natural skills, adapted by this interface. I am highly proficient in sword fighting, on par with a regular kendo master. So technically, my skills don't surpass a human's capabilities, and that places them within your reach."

I don't think the word 'regular' even applies to kendo masters.

"Still, it will take a long time for me to even match your skills. I'll probably do better finding out what I want to know without your help."

"Don't worry, Kyon. I wouldn't even be here if I wasn't able to do what is expected from me." Asakura stood up, taking her sword. I figured I should follow and do the same. "I can be a very effective instructor. I'll teach you much faster than anyone would dare to try. I will even do it for free."

Well, that's comforting. If she isn't going to take money for her lessons, that makes everything fine, even all this ridiculous secrecy. I will have to earn the answers, it seems. It actually sounds like something Haruhi would put me through. Man, are all of her versions so annoying?

"There is one thing I can tell you before we begin our first real lesson," said Asakura. "By this time, Mikuru Asahina should have already noticed her TPDD is malfunctioning."

"What?" I tightened at the sound of these words. "Why is that?"

"Tsk, tsk," she smiled slyly. "It's too early for the details. But I'm telling you this to see how you can cope with thoughts that distract you from the more important matters."

I hate you. Seriously, you couldn't have chosen a worse time for teasing me and giving me even more unanswered questions. Why tell me this if I would eventually find it out myself?

"Then we better get to it." I tried my best swallowing my anxiety, gripping the sword's hilt with my fingers. "What do you want me to do?"


	7. Chapter 6: Precious Moments

_**Chapter 6. Precious Moments**_

When I left Asakura's apartment, the sun has already set, and it was dark outside. I'm not sure how much time passed. Must've been several hours. I wasn't tired at all, maybe that's why I've lost my sense of time. Who could have thought kendo was so exciting? Most importantly, I had plenty of motivation to succeed in training: once I'm skilled enough to beat Asakura in a fair duel, she'll start talking, and there will be no more bloody mysteries. Just the truth, plain and clear.

That is, if Asakura does keep her word and it's not some crazy game set by the other Haruhi for her own amusement. I shouldn't forget that she also forced Koizumi to fight a beast in a Closed Space – and she was watching from the sidelines, no less. Asakura may not seem as wicked as I expected, but it could be just another way to trick me into dropping my guard. And if I do, who knows what will happen?

"Kyon!" Asahina-san and Koizumi were waiting for me outside. How long have they been standing here? "Thank goodness, you are okay! Umm… You are okay, right? Please tell me you are, you've got us so worried, and…"

"It's alright, Asahina-san." Geez, she needs to calm down. Still, I appreciate her concern. "I didn't expect it myself, but there was no real danger. I'm fine."

"I did," said Koizumi, who was very relieved to see me in one piece. "I expected that there would be no trouble. Once the agents from my Organization reported the two of you were heading to the place where Nagato-san lives, I knew Asakura wouldn't attempt to do anything against you. But if that was the case, what did she invite you over for?"

So Asakura and I were followed by your agents? I could've done without you guys watching me, but thanks. I know you were worried, too.

"This is going to sound like madness, but try to believe me. She and I were fighting with wooden swords."

Cue the astonished looks on Asahina-san and Koizumi's faces. Of course, Asahina-san's was cuter thanks to her big beautiful eyes and her small mouth with pouty lips, which were begging me to press my own lips against them... Are my thoughts always that dirty? However, they were a guaranteed sign that I was perfectly fine and undisturbed.

"Wooden swords?" Koizumi said those words as if they were from some unknown and unearthly language. "Are you really telling us that you were practicing kendo?"

"Yes, exactly."

"I believe you, but this is still madness." Koizumi scratched his nose bridge. "Did she say why you were doing it?"

I shook my head.

"But she offered me a deal."

I told them about Asakura's promise and its conditions. Asahina-san looked puzzled, but Koizumi was irritated by it.

"It seems like she's just toying with you. I wouldn't be putting too much faith in this so-called deal. Did you manage to find out anything truly important? Your intention was to get some information, wasn't it?"

"Two things." I crooked a finger. "First, she told me that the mysterious person who dragged her away from Nagato's boss and the one who attacked you are one and the same."

"And is it really Suzumiya-san?" anxiously asked me Asahina-san. "Is it really a different version of her?"

I see you've been briefed.

"Asakura didn't answer that. She wouldn't tell me who exactly it was, said she promised to keep that a secret."

"And the other thing?"

"The other thing…" Crooking another finger, I looked at Asahina-san carefully, trying to find any signs of disturbance. Doesn't she know already? Maybe Asakura wasn't accurate about the timing… "She said something about your TPDD, sort of it wasn't working. Is it true?"

"Huh? My TPDD? Umm… Please wait for a second…" And then her perplexity changed into dismay, followed by a panicked shout. "Waaa! Kyon, you are right, it's not responding!"

"What does that mean?" Koizumi's eyes didn't know where to stop at, shifting between Asahina-san and me. "How did Asakura know that?"

"It's terrible!" Oh man, she was crying now. What should I do? "I c-c-can't do anything! I can't time travel, I can't contact my superiors… I-I-I'm uuuuuuseless!"

"Hey, hey…" I touched her shoulders. "Asahina-san, please stop crying. Oh…"

"I told you something strange would happen to you, Asahina-san," said Koizumi. He hasn't been smiling for five minutes now, and he was deeply in contemplation. "Then Nagato-san should be next. I can only imagine what Dark Haruhi will do to her…

"Dark Haruhi?" Is that supposed to be a reference to the other version of Haruhi?

"Yes, that's right." The esper smiled once again, as if he could hear what I was thinking. "I've come up with this alias for the other version of Suzumiya-san, and I believe it describes her quite well. She manipulates the events from the dark where we can't see her. She hides from us for some reason. And our goal should be bringing her to light."

Nobody else could've thought up a lamer and cheesier nickname for our newest foe. Seriously, _Dark Haruhi. _Ugh, but it is indeed easier to pronounce than "the other version of Haruhi." So whatever.

"_Is now the right time for explaining what's the deal with Asahina-san's TPDD_?" I had asked Asakura after she called it a day.

"_I should've known you couldn't get it out of your head_." Asakura's smile was beginning to annoy me, and I gladly held onto this feeling. Under no circumstances is she my friend. "_Sadly, the details are only known to my rescuer. Ask Nagato-san to run the diagnostics, she will be able to explain it better than I_."

"_Will do. Thank you for the lesson_."

"_Don't forget to come back tomorrow. We'll be practicing every day. And should you forget_…" The lamp's light reflected in Asakura's eyes, giving them a scary shine. "_I will remind you. But I hope it won't come to that_."

I got my cell phone from my pocket and dialed Nagato's number. She answered after the first beep. Without saying a word, as usual.

"Nagato, it's me. I'm alright. I'm done with Asakura for today."

A moment of silence, and she responded:

"Understood."

"Are you at home now?"

"Yes."

"Could you come out?" Koizumi pulled out a tissue from his pocket and gave it to the still crying Asahina-san. "I'm at the doors of your apartment with Koizumi and Asahina-san. We have a situation here, and you are the only one who can shed some light on the things."

"I'm coming."

She ended the call, and less than a minute later the doors opened and Nagato showed up. She was dressed in her school uniform, as always. I know she has other clothes. Why doesn't she wear them?

"Nagato." I took her by the shoulder and put her in front of the sobbing time traveler. "Asahina-san says her TPDD is out of order. Could you check it out and tell us what's the problem?"

Nagato nodded and grabbed Asahina-san's chin with two fingers, her face moving closer and closer… Um, Nagato, is that really necessary? Asahina-san squeaked, and her tears stopped streaming momentarily.

"Nagato-san, what are you trying to do?"

Nagato didn't answer. Koizumi was just standing here, his eyes hidden behind a hair bang, and smiling like an idiot. If I'm right about what he is thinking, I should probably kick him in the guts.

"Diagnostics complete." Having said that, Nagato still didn't move away from Asahina-san. Is it just me, or is she fooling around? "Your TPDD has been removed and replaced with a fake device, similar to a TPDD in the interface layout. However, its programming and purpose are different."

"Are you saying what Asahina-san has at the moment is not a TPDD?" asked Koizumi.

"Yes."

That sounds even more worrying than what Asakura said. Who could have done that? Asahina-san had already lost her TPDD once before – to her older self, but her adult version never planted a fake inside her. If Asakura knew about it, could Dark Haruhi be responsible for this? But when did she do it?

I really need to come up with a better name for her. It's just tasteless!

"What about the purpose of that thing?" I asked.

"It has a message, hidden inside the device's programming code."

A message...? The world around me stopped, all sound was gone from it. I almost felt I could reach my hand and touch the air, and it would be solid. That's how tense the moment was.

"Let's hear it."

Nagato blinked.

"It is a text message. Relaying…"

In a complete monotone voice that would make her a perfect candidate for voicing a female elcor, if there ever is one in Mass Effect, Nagato recited the message:

"_To the members of the SOS Brigade. All of them, with the exception of their leader. Kyon, Koizumi, Nagato and Mikuru, I hope you all are hearing this. Anyway, here's the message. Hi everyone! I have Mikuru's TPDD. Rest assured, it's in good hands and nothing is going to happen to it. Of course, I'm not planning to give it back, so Mikuru, you'll have to do without it for now."_

The air was so solid now I could barely breathe.

"There's more," said Nagato. "Relaying…"

"_May I add something, please? I have a few words to say, as well. Kyon, good luck with your training. Unusual as it may be, everything will make sense soon. Really, I promise. Until the next time._"

"Message over."

Suddenly, Asahina-san let out a short shout. Nagato finally let go of her chin.

"The device has self-destructed. It was programmed to delete itself after the hidden message is found."

"So that's how it is…" Koizumi was scratching his nose again. "Judging from this message, it heavily seems it was written by two people."

I got the same impression, too.

"The first part sounded a lot like Haruhi. She calls Asahina-san by her given name, just like ours does. But it doesn't prove it's really her. After all, it can't be she is the only one who does that."

"True enough," nodded Koizumi. "As for the second part, I'm afraid I don't have a single clue about who that person might be."

"Asakura?" I suggested. "We do know she works for Dark Haruhi."

"I doubt it. From what you said before, it seemed like Asakura didn't know about the TPDD being replaced rather than simply malfunctioning, so it's unlikely she could have contributed to the message. Also, she is the one training you. Why would she need a message to wish you luck?"

I didn't like what he was implying, but even I couldn't see anything else it could probably mean.

"So that makes another unknown person who's in the same team." Good grief, how many of them are out there? And what do they want from us? Is it simply the kind of stuff that Dark Haruhi would call amusing, and she's just playing with us because she is bored? No way to tell.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it right now," I said. "Let's just… go home and rest. It's Saturday tomorrow, and you know what it means."

"Yes, you are right," nodded Koizumi. "The sooner I report to the Organization, the sooner we can start planning our course of actions. I'll see you all tomorrow. Bye!"

He walked away, and Nagato went inside her apartment, leaving just me and Asahina-san here. Alone. That means I can… "_Okay, snap out of it_," I said to myself. "_Be serious!_" She wasn't crying anymore, but seeing her so sad and confused was heartbreaking. I had to do something.

"Do you mind if I walk you home?"

Asahina-san looked at me with her red swollen eyes and smiled.

"Not at all."

* * *

Walking a beautiful girl home in the night… I don't get ecstatic at all the romantic things that can drive girls crazy, but I couldn't help but enjoy it. Of course, it's not the first time I had to go with Asahina-san somewhere. I've done that before with both of her versions, young and adult. But I never got to see where she lives. Hmm… I wonder if Dark Haruhi is an adult version of our Haruhi, too. Or could she be a slider from another world? Who knows.

We were walking in silence, and I wanted to talk about something. Partly because it would be awkward if we made it to Asahina-san's place without saying a single word, and partly because I wanted to stop thinking about Dark Haruhi. I can worry about her when those thoughts can't ruin such wonderful moment.

"So, Asahina-san… How does Shiraki know you?"

As good a conversation starter as any.

"I don't know…" She pondered the thought. "I'm not sure I've ever met him before. I can't remember seeing him in West Junior High, and I didn't know he was a teacher there."

"He did say it was brief."

"If he had mentioned what he taught there, I might have been able to remember him," said Asahina-san.

"He couldn't be from the future, could he?"

"Huh?" She turned to me with a really surprised look on her face. "Why do you think so?"

I'm not sure myself why I thought about that. It sounds kinda ridiculous.

"Well…" And then I remembered Fujiwara. "Maybe because the last guy who claimed to know you while you didn't know him was a time traveler."

That drove Asahina-san into even more pondering.

"But Shiraki-sensei doesn't seem as malicious as Fujiwara at all," she objected. "He seemed like a very kind person to me. However…"

However what, Asahina-san?

"I could contact my superiors and request information on Shiraki-sensei, and I could find out if he really is from the future." She turned sulky. "But it's impossible without my TPDD."

"I thought TPDDs are only used to move from one time plane to another. You can also make calls with it?"

"When I contact my superiors, my signal does have to reach another time plane somehow. Doesn't it?"

Makes sense. It's so simple, my question was really stupid.

"I hope Shiraki doesn't turn out to be anything but a normal human," I spoke my mind. "I think he is a good teacher and a generous man. It would be for the best if he stayed that way."

"I agree with you," said Asahina-san. "Maybe he really was a teacher in West Junior High. Perhaps some of my former teachers had been discussing their students one day with their colleagues, and I was mentioned in their conversation. That could explain how Shiraki-sensei knows about me. I did have good grades, after all…"

"And you had to work your butt off to get that far," I quoted the adult Asahina-san.

"Yes. How did you know I was going to say the exact same words?"

I smirked and looked away.

"Just a lucky shot, I guess."

Those were the words the adult Asahina-san said when she explained to me what TPDD stands for: Time Plane Destruction Device. She had to work hard to be granted permission to share information with me that would be classified otherwise. Maybe after we are done with this Dark Haruhi nonsense, Asahina-san might get a promotion for dealing with it without her superiors' guidance. I mean, imagine yourself in her shoes. Being trapped in the past without any way to return or call for help? People sometimes get stranded on lone islands, and that's the closest they can get to Asahina-san's situation. At least she has good friends she can count on.

"This is where I live." We stopped near an apartment which had fewer floors than Nagato's. That's not how I thought it would be. I expected Asahina-san to live in her own house with her family, like Koizumi and I do… Ah, but it wouldn't make sense. The future is her home, not present. Of course she would live in an apartment, just like Nagato and Asakura.

"I really need to get my TPDD back, Kyon." Her big eyes were begging for help. "How do I do that? No matter what happens, you always find a way out of any trouble. I wish I had this talent, too."

Oh, you flatter me, Asahina-san.

"If Dark Haruhi said in her message that she has your TPDD, then we'll have to make her give it back." Not that I have any idea how we are supposed to do that. Asahina-san smiled gratefully, silently thanking me for my cheap and obvious advice, and raised her hand, pressing a finger against her lips. Then she touched my cheek with it, avoiding looking into my eyes.

"Goodnight, Kyon."

I could still feel the warmth of her finger when she opened the door of her apartment and was gone from my sight.

"Goodnight, Asahina-san."

* * *

"Mom, Kyon is home!" shouted my little sister when I finally made it back to my own place. She ran up to me, peering into my bag. "Have you bought it?"

"Bought what? And stop fumbling in my bag already, you can't do that! It's a bad thing to do!"

"You promised to bring me a bag of sweets when you come home!" My sister gave me a devilish grin, and I remembered my morning promise. Oh crap, no. No! "Since you don't hold your promises, I'm telling! Mom!"

"Wait!" That little brat is surprisingly fast. I tried to grab her from behind, but I tripped over my own shoes and fell on the floor. I could hear her voice from the kitchen. She was telling Mother about my jaunt last night, and since I've come home rather late today, I'm in for a very unpleasant talk with my parents. Oh man, what am I going to say in my defense?

Fortunately, after we were done with it, and I might say, there was very little berating on their part, my parents have decided I found myself a girlfriend, and I'm just too shy to admit it. Dad gave me a couple of advices that might be useful if I actually dated a girl, and Mom was so happy that her little boy was all grown up. I couldn't make them believe that they've got it all wrong, but it's probably for the better. Because I can't tell them or my sister what I was actually doing last night and most of this day.

So when tomorrow came, I could safely venture off to meet with Haruhi and the others on the north station. I bet my sister expected Mom and Dad would ground me. Fat chance, kid.

"You're late, Kyon! Penalty!" said Haruhi with Nagato, Koizumi and Asahina-san standing next to her. Could you please tell me which Japanese dialect has those annoying words for a greeting?

"Yeah, whatever."

"Don't try to shove it aside like it's nothing!" Great, our Brigade leader was lecturing me again. "How dare you be so irresponsible? You think we are little kids in a kindergarten? Is that what you think about my Brigade?"

"But it's not even nine o'clock yet!" I tried to defend myself. I knew it was in vain, but I couldn't just submit to this outrage. I showed her the digits on my wristwatch. "See? It's quarter to nine. How can I be late if I have come before the designated time?"

"Because you are the last to come here, that's why!" She didn't even look at my watch. "Tell me, Kyon, how come I'm never late? Or Yuki, or Mikuru, or Koizumi? Why is it always you?"

"Because the four of you camp out on this station every Friday night?"

Koizumi leaned over Asahina-san and whispered something in her ear. I can't say I'm good at lip-reading, but I could swear he said to her, "He knows."

"Ha ha. Very funny, Kyon." Haruhi pulled some toothpicks out of her pocket. What, so we aren't going to the café first? Thank goodness. My wallet is grateful, too. "Alright everyone, you know what to do. Draw a toothpick, and then we split into two groups and begin searching for mysteries. Yuki, you first."

Nagato pulled out an unmarked toothpick, and so did Asahina-san after her. Koizumi, however, got a toothpick with a colored tip. Praying to all the gods in existence to send me an unmarked one, I closed my eyes and reached my hand. Tough luck; my toothpick had a colored tip, too.

"Looks like we are in the same group today," smiled the esper. You don't say, Koizumi.

"Okay, is the task clear? Look everywhere, stay sharp and find me a mystery! Kyon, if I find out you dragged Koizumi to a karaoke bar, I will make you wear female school uniform. For a week! And you will be referring to yourself as Kyonko!"

At least Haruhi is still Haruhi. I doubt this will ever change. As I watched the girls blend in the crowd, my mind travelled over places I could go to together with Koizumi. Karaoke bar is a no-go. How about a comics shop?

"It's good to see Suzumiya-san in such high spirits," said Koizumi's voice behind my shoulder. "And it's very fortunate we've split into groups of different genders. She should spend time just with girls more often, don't you think?"

"I disagree. It only means there will be no one to stop her from abusing Asahina-san if she feels like it."

My cell phone vibrated. I picked up.

"Hello?"

"Why are you two standing there and chattering?" shouted Haruhi in my ear. "Get moving!"

"We were just discussing which place is the best to search for strange things, that's all."

"Liar! I'm counting to three, and if I can still see you, both of you will be cross-dressing! One…"

Koizumi, I don't suppose any powers of yours can help us disappear from this station in three seconds?


	8. Chapter 7: Extraterrestrial Life 101

_**Chapter 7. Extraterrestrial Life 101**_

The day I met Haruhi was my first day in high school. I was 15 years old, and by that time I had given up on trying to brighten up my boring ordinary life with something that wasn't ordinary. Thanks to sci-fi and fantasy (perhaps I could say it with sarcasm), my mind was full of things that didn't belong to our world. Those included aliens, time travel, magic, ancient civilizations, psychics, supernatural abilities and many others. God knows how badly I wanted to stumble upon them. Even one of those would be enough to make me happier. In my most daring dreams, I turned out to possess extraordinary traits that would make me stand out of the crowd. Maybe I was an esper and just didn't know it. Maybe I could move things with my mind or read thoughts, and I just had to find a way to unlock my powers? Everything's possible, right? Years passed, and my hopes were slowly fading. I thought that if I hadn't any powers, maybe I could become a sidekick to someone who did. I could be like Robin, and somebody else could be like Batman; I would perform easier tasks like hacking security while my hero mentor would fight their way through legions of a villain's mooks. I bet anyone can relate, and I definitely wasn't the only one with such childish fantasies which were doomed to never become real. I believe everyone needs a heroic figure to look up to, and that figure doesn't need to have existed. Just look at the Greek mythology. I am 100% sure ancient Greek kids played role games like "Heracles and Atlas" or "Jason and the Argonauts." After thousands of years, nothing has changed.

So when a girl who called herself Haruhi Suzumiya stood up behind me during the class introduction and said she was looking forward to meet an alien, a time traveler or an esper, my still and quiet world turned upside down once again. It didn't happen in an instance, of course. Haruhi intrigued me, but it took some time for her to get used to me and, apparently, notice something in me even I wasn't aware of. How else would you explain the fact that it was none other than me who became the other founding member of Haruhi's club? One month after the event, three more people had joined the SOS Brigade. That's when I found out I gave up on my dreams way too soon. Those three revealed themselves to be the very beings Haruhi was looking for: an alien, a time traveler and an esper, each one here for their own reasons. Ironically, Haruhi was ignorant, and I didn't want the extraordinary to enter my life anymore. So why the sudden change? Why was I dragged into this gathering of supernatural? Nobody could give me a straight answer, except for some mysterious reason why Haruhi chose me of all people that had yet to be uncovered.

Regardless of the role I may or may not have in all this, I was still a part of Haruhi's life and her never-ending quest to find someone who wasn't an ordinary human. And most often, Saturday was a day when we gathered and searched through the city for things like that. As stupid as it sounds, that's why Haruhi is wandering somewhere accompanied by an alien and a time traveler, while I'm taking a walk with an esper. Technically, that makes our task complete, so how do we kill time before we have to rendezvous with the girls?

"You know, I think I'm getting a hang of this new ability of mine," confessed Koizumi while we were moving aimlessly through a market district. "When I got used to seeing auras all the time, I noticed they would disappear sometimes, as if my mind had adapted and could filter them out when I didn't need to see them. Now I can make auras reappear when I want to, but I still don't know how to make them go away at will."

Umm… Congratulations?

"And while studying the aura of Suzumiya-san, I have made a curious discovery," continued Koizumi. "Or rather, I should say, studying her aura and yours. Your aura is that of an absolutely ordinary human, but there is one small detail that makes you somewhat different from the others."

"You have my attention."

"There is a certain attraction between Suzumiya-san's aura and yours. After seeing hundreds of other people's auras, I haven't seen anybody else have such a connection. If I had to draw an analogy, it's as if the two of you were links of the same chain."

I still couldn't understand what Koizumi was trying to say.

"What kind of chain?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know." A small wrinkle crossed the esper's forehead. "I've been thinking about it, but the meaning of this connection eludes me. However," Koizumi raised a finger, "I believe this might be a clue to answering the question why you are so special to Suzumiya-san. This connection proves that her choice wasn't accidental."

"Koizumi." With my hands in pockets, I looked at him askew. "This may seem to you like some very cool mystery, but that's the kind of stuff I've developed hatred for in the last few days. Can you tell me just what it means? Me and Haruhi being links of a chain? More importantly, let's say you get to the bottom of this. Then what? What are you going to do with this knowledge? Can you put it to any good use?"

"Well," Koizumi's good-looking face remained unflappable. "It may mean nothing to you, but for us espers, whose life was radically changed by Suzumiya-san's influence, it could be a critical piece of information. It could give us more insight into her abilities and probably an answer to the question why we received our powers. Imagine if you found out there was a connection between you and a divine being. Wouldn't you like to investigate it and see what you might discover?"

"If your words are true, then Haruhi and I are connected, not Haruhi and you," I retorted. "As for your esper lot, you seem to already have an opinion about why you have powers: because Haruhi wanted you to have them."

"Any new information about Suzumiya-san is valuable. Especially if it can provide answers to the questions that need them. Remember the day I told you I was an esper and how our small talk ended then?"

"Refresh my memory. How did it end?"

"What I said to you that day still remains true," Koizumi smiled at me. "The biggest mystery is definitely you. You are an ordinary human being and have always been, and that isn't something Suzumiya-san hopes to find. Yet she wants you to be by her side, and it's still unknown why. But now that I have discovered the link between you, I might be close to finding the answer."

I sighed.

"You know what I would love right now? A straight answer. With the stir caused by Dark Haruhi, we have none of those. I'm fed up with all the mysterious crap she has thrown at me, and you are not helping, Koizumi. So please…" Trying not to lose my composure, I faced him. "Don't bother me with this mystery of yours until you actually solve it. Okay?"

The esper withstood my angry gaze. Nice to see he is tougher now than he was when I found him in the pitch-black Closed Space. Although, what is a friend's anger compared to an invisible beast with sharp fangs and claws?

"Very well. I will not bring this matter up anymore until I have results, if you insist."

"Thank you, Koizumi. Sorry if I was rude."

"It's alright," he said it while stopping before a shop-window. "I understand your frustration. Believe it or not, I feel the same way about our situation, too. New problems arise faster than we sort them out, and there's nothing I want more than to put an end to them."

"What is it, Koizumi?" I stopped to see what he was looking at. We were standing in front of a flower and garden shop. Koizumi, you aren't going to tell me you want to buy a watering pot or some fertilizers, are you?

"Of course not," chuckled Koizumi. "It's something else. Or rather I should say, someone. I think that's our new supervisor teacher shopping inside. Takahiro Shiraki is his name, isn't it?"

I gazed at the man who was paying the cashier and taking his shopping bag off the counter. Yes, Koizumi was correct; it really was Shiraki. He wasn't wearing his suit with a tie today, he was dressed into a simple light-blue shirt and a pair of jeans instead. Shiraki headed for the exit, and it wasn't long before he noticed Koizumi and me.

"Kyon, Koizumi-kun." The glass door closed behind him, and we could hear a wind chime ringing inside the shop for a moment. "Good morning to you."

"Good morning, sensei." I bowed, and he made a wry face.

"Please, don't call me sensei when we are not at school. It's a weekend, after all. The time when we can rest from our duties and live our life to the fullest."

I wish I could rest from my duties and just live my life without Haruhi telling me what to do.

"Hey, why the long faces?" Shiraki's mouth shaped into a smile. "Does anything bother you? By the way, what brings the two of you to a market district when you don't have any shopping bags with you? It doesn't seem to me like you are here to buy anything."

"Oh." I scratched the back of my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Koizumi was narrowly looking at Shiraki. "We are just lingering. Trying to figure out how to spend some free time."

"Hmm." Shiraki threw a glance at Koizumi, who turned his head away momentarily, pretending as if he wasn't just fixing him with his eye. "Does it have anything to do with your Brigade activities?"

"Well… yes." I looked at Shiraki with surprise. "How did you know that?"

"It's not a secret, Kyon," Shiraki raised his hand and waved at someone on the opposite side of the street. I tried to follow his line of sight, but I'd be damned if I could tell who that person was. "Okabe-san told me everything I needed to know about your class. How else would I know that Ryoko Asakura was a representative once?"

"And he also told you about Haruhi and the SOS Brigade."

"Oh yes." Shiraki grinned, as if someone had just told him a very funny joke. "Suzumiya-san's got quite a reputation in the North High and even beyond. To be honest, I worried I would have problems with such a rebellious student, but everything seems to be peaceful for now."

So he isn't mad about the yesterday incident. If he calls that peaceful, I'd hate to see what he would label as troublesome.

"Sen… I mean, Shiraki-san. May I ask you a personal question?"

"Go ahead."

"Haruhi asked you to be our new supervisor, and you agreed without a moment of hesitation. Even after she told you about our long-term goal, you weren't confused by it at all."

Shiraki nodded.

"That's correct. Is there anything wrong with it?"

How can he be so casual about it? Was he even listening when Haruhi answered his question about the purpose of our Brigade?

"Shiraki-san." I chose my next words as carefully as I could. "Aliens, time travelers, espers… How many school clubs that look for those things have you heard about? And how many of them have actually found something?"

"In short, you want to know if I lost my mind."

Well… That's one way to put it.

"I have an idea. See that ice cream café over there?" He pointed the direction. A small and easy-to-miss café was squeezed between a video rental shop and a pet store. "I bet you want to ask many questions, Kyon. So how about we discuss them while stuffing ourselves with some ice cream? It's better than just standing here, anyway. And it's only been a few days since summer ended, so ice cream is still quite enjoyable."

"That sounds like a very good idea, Shiraki-san," finally chimed in Koizumi. "I think we can spare a few minutes for an informal conversation."

"Your speech is strange."

Koizumi froze for a second, his mouth agasp and eyes wide open. What's with him? Don't tell me our talkative esper doesn't know how to respond to such a simple remark. Seriously, Koizumi?

"Are you always that official with others, Koizumi-kun?" Shiraki smiled mischievously and made a move towards the café, prompting the two of us to follow him. "You sound like you are attending a business meeting and trying not to upset your partners."

"But… that is my usual manner of speech, Shiraki-san."

Aw, now he's stuttering. Sensei, I don't know how you did it, but you are truly a miracle worker. I never thought I'd live to see the day cat got Koizumi's tongue.

* * *

A cute waitress had brought each one of us a cup of cold, freshly-made ice cream. I ordered myself the chocolate one and a cup of coffee to regain some warmth later. Koizumi got a vanilla ice cream, and Shiraki picked one with strawberries and whipped cream in a bigger cup than mine or Koizumi's. Gotta say, this place was pretty. Small, but with a lot of effort to keep it cozy. I imagine it's quite popular among dating couples. Maybe I should come here someday with…

"So… What was your question again, Kyon?" Shiraki tried the whipped cream and, satisfied with its taste, shoveled a big chunk of it in his mouth.

"Why did you decide to be our new supervisor?"

"Why not? It seemed like a good idea to me."

You've got to be kidding me. I thought you promised us some answers.

"And you're okay with Haruhi's obsession with aliens and other nonexistent stuff?"

"Who's to say they are nonexistent?" Shiraki seemed genuinely surprised. "Just because humanity hasn't found them yet, it doesn't mean they don't exist. You'll need solid proof if you want to convince me there is no life beyond Earth. Otherwise, there is a nice theory which explains why there most certainly is."

"That sounds promising," said Koizumi, who hasn't even touched his ice cream yet. "I'd like to hear it, if you don't mind."

My teacher beamed with joy. Looks like we've touched his favorite topic.

"It's quite simple, really. Take a look outside." He pointed at people on the street with his spoon. "What you see is the result of a four billion years evolution. More precisely, that's how long this planet has existed for, and since nobody can tell when exactly the first life form appeared, let's say life began on Earth as soon as it was formed into a giant rock. There are nine planets in this solar system, or maybe more, but only one of them flourishes with life. That's Earth. Why do you think that is so?"

"Divine intervention?" suggested Koizumi. Shiraki shook his head.

"While many religions tell us the world was created by a godlike entity, that's not what I was implying. Let's refer to science instead. The reason life forms of Earth can survive is because the planet is placed on such a distance from the Sun that it provides optimal temperature for chemical reactions to run freely. There is water, and it can be in any of its three states of matter, unlike on other planets which are either too hot or too cold. There is the atmosphere, and the amount of harmful elements in it isn't high enough to be lethal. For example, Venus' atmosphere has a large percentage of sulfur, and combined with all the heat trapped underneath its clouded sky, you could say Venus is the very Hell religious teachings warn us about."

There's that feeling again! While Shiraki was explaining the basics of that theory of his, I could feel déjà vu tingling in my brain. He reminded me of someone… But of whom?

"Unlike Venus, Earth has all the conditions for life forms to appear and not be exterminated. Since the Sun isn't the only star in the universe, it's not too far-fetched to assume there are other solar systems out there which, too, have planets on an advantageous distance. Therefore, those planets can have life forms on them. However…" Shiraki happily exterminated the biggest strawberry in his cup. "Another question rises there. Are those life forms intelligent like us? What if those planets are only inhabited by mindless animals? While the universe is big enough to host thousands of planets with life, the criteria of intelligence reduces the number of planets which can have the beings we call aliens. Not to mention they need to be advanced enough to be able to travel through space. This is yet another condition which may stall a visit by extraterrestrial guests, but that is a different matter already. You don't need to have spaceflight to be called aliens by folks on another planet, am I right?"

"But we already have sent our people in outer space, if only for a brief time," said Koizumi. "However, we won't be able to visit distant planets like Pluto. There is an important factor none can escape: speed limit. Nothing can move faster than light, which means no crew can survive long enough to travel too deep into space. Even should our scientists find a way to make a spaceship fly as fast as light, it would solve the problem of sending an expedition to Pluto, but what about leaving the boundaries of our solar system?"

"And spending years, if not centuries, trying to get to another system?" Shiraki concluded Koizumi's idea. "Well, there can be only one solution. Scientists have to find a way to surpass the speed of light!"

"Is that even possible?" I wondered. That was a bold suggestion, bold enough to impress Haruhi. Wait…

"I don't see why not," shrugged Shiraki. "Every big thing begins with a small 'maybe'. A few hundred years ago people would have never thought about having carts riding without horses or machines flying on their own, but here they are, and we can't imagine our life without them. Of course, breaking the light speed barrier is a much tougher challenge. It won't be accomplished in… a very… long time."

He made a few pauses in his statement, stopping mid-sentence as if a sudden pain got him. Brain freeze? Shiraki cleared his throat and continued:

"So let's say there are aliens whose spaceships aren't restricted by the speed of light. There's one last condition for them to want to visit Earth. Something must get their attention. It has to be interesting enough so they get up and deploy their agents on another planet; otherwise, sending an expedition is pointless. If aliens arrive, it is because they want something. Once it happens, we can only hope they aren't hostile. I believe you can imagine what would happen if a real alien invasion started here. We'd be obliterated."

"And if they aren't hostile?" asked Koizumi.

"Well…" Shiraki pondered the thought. "Quite a few things might attract aliens to our planet. Scientific research would be the most likely reason. Or espionage, though it would better apply to an already known planet with a civilization threatening their own. In other words, it wouldn't apply to Earth at all. Colonization wouldn't work on a planet like Earth, with humanity expanded all over the globe and an established civilization. Not to mention the dangers of publicly revealing themselves as aliens. Of course, they could send infiltration units, but even so, scientific research would be the safest thing to do. Studying life forms of Earth, our culture… perhaps finding answers to questions which had been bothering them, or investigating phenomena they haven't seen before."

That last part sounded an awful lot like the Humanoid Interfaces, sent on Earth by the Data Integration Thought Entity. Nagato, Emiri Kimidori and originally Asakura – all of them had their mission to observe Haruhi and her power. However, the rest of Shiraki's theory, no matter how interesting, wasn't even remotely close to what real existing aliens were like. I tried to remember what Nagato told me about herself and her boss on that fateful day. If I'm not mistaken, the Data Integration Thought Entity wasn't a physical being, and Humanoid Interfaces were mere vessels for creatures of data. Thus they didn't need a planet with conditions necessary for life to emerge and survive. And I think Nagato said us humans were the only beings to develop intelligence.

"I see your point," I touched my cup of coffee and found it to be still warm. "Let's say there is a possibility that aliens exist. What about time travelers and espers?"

Koizumi was sitting with his fingers crossed and his eyes fixed on Shiraki. I bet our esper is curious what he can say about his kind.

"Those are a little bit tougher to explain."

Shiraki got done with his ice cream and was drawing some shapes in the air with his spoon.

"Let's begin with espers. It is clear that there aren't many known people with psychic abilities. All of those who openly claim to have them are charlatans. Clairvoyants, white lighters, magicians and alike have tricks up their sleeves which they keep secret, and all magic acts they perform are based on those tricks, therefore having a realistic and non-mystical explanation. If there are people with real psychic abilities, they must be either hiding someplace where no one can see what they can do, or they manage to live among us while rarely using their powers, only when nobody is looking. The question is, where did they get their powers from? Why don't all people have them?"

Shiraki glanced over the hall. When I looked around, I noticed that it was filled with visitors, and everyone was listening. Some of them were interested in what Shiraki was saying. Others were shaking their heads in disapproval. One thing was undeniable: no one could ignore him. A guy going on about things that you will most certainly never see in your life no matter how much you'd want to has got the attention of every single person in this small café. Men were listening to him carefully, and women were eye worshipping him. Just like his first day in our class.

"What makes espers so special? Are they born with whatever gift they have, or is it possible to somehow acquire it? I suggest that supernatural can only come from supernatural. If espers have abilities which defy the laws of physics, their source must be of exactly the same characteristics. Real espers have to be people touched by an unknown power. It could be God, or Satan, or destiny, or something we have no idea about. Whatever it is, it chooses those people by its own reasoning. Or maybe it's purely accidental. And that's how I'm approaching the concept of time travelers."

Shiraki paused for a second and continued:

"This is the most difficult concept. As of now, time travel only exists in science fiction. There is no known way into a day that had already happened or hasn't happened yet. As such, it's unknown what is needed for traveling through time. Is it exploiting a natural phenomenon, or inventing a new technology, or maybe making use of the supernatural power available to espers? No way to tell until it actually happens. But once it does, another issue will arise, and it is interfering with history as we know it. You've most certainly heard about the grandfather paradox. A time traveler kills his own grandfather in the past, preventing the birth of his father and by extension their own birth, erasing themselves from existence. But if nobody went back in time, how could it have occurred? Another example is going back to kill Adolf Hitler. Many people say they would do that if they could, because it would have prevented World War II and all its horrors. While I disagree, let's say the time traveler succeeds in doing this. Can you imagine the ways in which it would affect the present?" Shiraki spread his arms. "If time travel is invented, preventing paradoxes and meddling with history would become two major problems. It means that any time travel project would be top secret and have a low number of operatives who go back and forth in time, chosen with extreme caution. It won't be surprising if brainwashing their agents would be involved in order to prevent them from saying too much or doing something they mustn't. With all precautions taken, it would be impossible to discern a time traveler."

"Why would anyone actually travel through time?" asked him Koizumi. Is he going to eat his ice cream or not? "Let's say a secret agency controlled by government can use time travel. What would be their goals?"

"Koizumi-kun," Shiraki responded with a smile, "if I were a time traveler, I'd say it was classified information. But if I had to sit and guess… Time travelers like the ones I've described would have goals similar to aliens. Scientific research, its necessity justified by natural curiosity. Having the ability to see any historical event would answer most of the questions. For example, religion's validity could be proven or disproven once and for all. Because it's a complete unknown, time travel could provide unlimited possibilities… or maybe very few of them."

Shiraki stretched out in his seat.

"That's why I decided to become a part of Suzumiya-san's Brigade. She and I have a lot in common. With any luck, she will succeed in finding that which is hidden from normal people's eyes for the time being."

No wonder why I've been having this feeling of déjà vu. The person Shiraki reminded me of was none other than Haruhi. Although he was a lot more reserved than her, which also gave him a similarity to Sasaki. It also explains Haruhi's strange behavior in the last few days. I never saw it coming, but our aromantic leader has finally developed a crush on someone. I take it it's a good sign… I guess. She's growing more mature.

"Thank you for sharing your opinion on this matter with us, Shiraki-san." Without a trace of a smile on his face, Koizumi was still studying his every movement like a predator. "I have a different question for you, if you don't mind. How do you know Kyoko Tachibana?"

What?

"Huh?" Shiraki was caught off guard. "We are neighbors. When I arrived to this city, I'd moved to a house which happens to be right next to her family's. Why? Are you a friend of hers?"

"I've been trying to contact her for some time now," said Koizumi. He was getting visibly anxious. "But I couldn't get any response from her. It has been a few weeks since we last spoke. But I saw her today, and you greeted her with a wave of hand. Shiraki-san, I need to find her. Please help me."

Shiraki was staring at him silently.

"Now that you've brought it up…" He held his chin in his hand. "I haven't seen Tachibana-san in a long time, either. In fact, it's been weeks since her house stayed empty. I thought the Tachibanas moved away, but it's strange nobody has mentioned it. I'm sorry, Koizumi-kun, but I don't know where you friend might be now. If I meet her again, though, I'll ask her to call you, if you'd like."

"Please do," nodded Koizumi. "It is very important that she and I have a talk."

What are they talking about? Kyoko Tachibana? One of Sasaki's friends, an esper from a faction which is rival to Koizumi's Organization? What does she have to do with anything? Ah, but if it's Koizumi's business, I shouldn't bother myself with it.

I checked the time on my watch. We should move out.

"Thank you for your time, Shiraki-san." I stood up and bowed, and Koizumi did the same. "The conversation was very enlightening. We have to go and meet with Haruhi now. Goodbye."

"You're welcome." Shiraki pointed at Koizumi's ice cream. "Do you mind if I take it?"

"Not at all," replied the esper. "Goodbye, Shiraki-san."

We have to hurry. We have only ten minutes, and then it will be too late to avoid whatever punishment Haruhi will inflict on the two of us. I'd hate to wear a dress for a week. Koizumi and I left the café and made haste, tracking back the way we came.

"Say, why were you ogling Shiraki all this time? It was rather creepy."

"It's nothing," said Koizumi. "Just a guess I'm making. I'd rather not talk about it. You said you wouldn't like to hear any more uncertainties, after all."

"Well, I wouldn't mind hearing about this one. What is the problem?"

"Shiraki." Koizumi gave me a troubled look. "His presence is the problem. I don't understand why he is here. More importantly, I don't understand how he managed to gain Suzumiya-san's trust so quickly that she chose him to be our new supervisor teacher without a second thought."

"It's kinda obvious," I smirked. "You might have noticed that all women in the café were listening to him with adoration. He's just that charismatic. I find it difficult to believe myself, but Haruhi is falling for him."

"I thought that might be the case, and it worries me even more." We stopped at the traffic light. "Remember that I am an expert on Suzumiya-san's wishes. I can always tell what her deepest desires are, even when she herself is unaware of them. I would have known if she wanted a handsome new teacher to appear at school, but she didn't. Shiraki isn't here because Suzumiya-san wished for him to be."

"I don't understand what you are getting at." The light turned green, and we crossed the street. "So Haruhi has nothing to do with Shiraki's appearance. Doesn't that prove that he's perfectly normal?"

"Think about it." We had five minutes left now. "A new face in school becomes your class' new homeroom teacher _and_ the new supervisor teacher of Suzumiya-san's Brigade, and she also develops infatuation with him. Shiraki seems like a perfect candidate to have been created or at least summoned by Suzumiya-san's reality warping power, but he is not! Everything happened naturally, without her power being involved. I don't believe it's a coincidence."

"Koizumi," I glared at him with irritation. "That's why it's called coincidence. By definition, they are things that oddly fall into place together. Stuff like that happens very often. Life is just strange that way."

"I hope you are right." We were almost there. "But something is out of place here. I would like to look into it."

Be my guest. We made it to the station at the same moment Haruhi, Nagato and Asahina-san showed up here. I stopped to catch a breath.

"Have you found anything?" Haruhi looked at the two of us. "You weren't dilly-dallying at some café, were you?"

"Well…" I exchanged looks with Koizumi. "Actually, we were. We ran into Shiraki and had a nice chat with him."

"Really?" Haruhi's eyes gleamed, and she went into raptures, barely restraining herself from bouncing around. "How was it? What did you talk about?"

"It appears he has a very interesting view on our Brigade's primary objectives," said Koizumi, letting a smile back on his face. "He explained to us his opinion on aliens and other paranormal beings. He has some very rational arguments towards their existence."

"I know, right!" Haruhi's grin was about to outshine the sun. "We talked about it, as well. I caught him on the first day he showed up at our class. At first, I asked him where he was from, where he worked before, what he thought about our class, and then we touched the paranormal topic! I felt like we could speak for hours, but I knew I had to go and check up on my Brigade, so I decided to pause it for the time being and…"

Yep, now it's official. Haruhi has a crush on Shiraki. She and soon every other woman in the city. Nagato, Asahina-san, please promise me you'll resist his charms. I'd hate to see you fall victim to them. I know you are stronger than that.

"Anyway, there's an important matter." Trying to contain her delight, Haruhi took on a serious look. "Me, Yuki and Mikuru have found a nice costume shop. We've ordered ourselves three sets of costumes, and now it's your turn, Kyon and Koizumi. No toothpicks this time. You are coming with me while Yuki and Mikuru go searching for mysteries."

Asahina-san gulped nervously, terrified by the idea to go somewhere alone with Nagato.

"Suzumiya-san, I have already ordered my costume and the sword replica," Koizumi assured Haruhi. "If you don't mind, I could accompany Nagato-san and Asahina-san instead of coming with you."

"Fine by me!" smiled Haruhi. "I don't promise I will enjoy Kyon's sole company, but it has to be done. Girls, behave! Kyon, follow me and try not to fall behind cause I won't be waiting for you!"

My cell phone vibrated. Who is that? Oh, right, it's Asakura…

"Hello, Kyon," said her voice. "Are you feeling alright?"

I sighed.

"Yes, I am. Why shouldn't I?"

"That's good, " chuckled Asakura. "Then I hope you won't forget to come over today. Are you going to be free before 4 P.M.?"

"I think so. Is it going to take long? I'd like some time for my homework, as well."

"If you want to do your homework, you should do it before we begin our today's lesson," said Asakura immediately. "Will you come?"

"Yes. 4 P.M.? See you today. I have to go." I hung up.

"Asakura?" suspiciously asked Haruhi. Did I say her name out loud? Because now Haruhi was looking at me like she was trying to drill a hole in me. "4 P.M.? Are you two going on a date or something?"

I shuddered. A date with someone like Asakura would be nightmare stuff. Can't say the meeting is going to be enjoyable, anyway.

"It's not a date, but I need to see her today."

"Hmph. Whatever." Haruhi turned away, seemingly uninterested. "Let's go!"


	9. Chapter 8: Rotten Branches

_**Chapter 8. Rotten Branches**_

It was Monday, the 5th of September. After spending a weekend full of exhausting events, I hoped fate would go easier on me today. I knew that dealing with one of the two Haruhis wasn't something I could avoid, but could I just have at least one normal day when all I would have to do was go to school, return home, do my homework and go to bed? I tell you, I am the ordinary one in Haruhi's Brigade of weird. Yet still, recently I've been getting into more trouble than any of the rest of us. Ironically, Haruhi was the one enjoying a normal life, despite being the least normal among us. A girl with godlike powers who is a talented high school student and has a crush on her homeroom teacher, and a guy who has no powers but encounters the supernatural and has to fight it every now and then. Somebody up there has a sick and twisted sense of humor.

In case you want to know how our Saturday meeting ended, it's hardly worth mentioning. Haruhi brought me to the costume shop where I made up my mind and decided to wear a Jedi outfit for the cosplay contest. Unfortunately and quite expectedly, I didn't have enough money to order one, so Haruhi had to lend me some of her own. That emptied my wallet, and I also was in Haruhi's debt, much to the annoyance of both of us. Hey, isn't a part of the Brigade leader's responsibilities to make sure no one gets left behind and to help her subordinates?

"_If you can't pull your own weight, Kyon, you don't deserve a place in my Brigade!"_ she responded angrily. "_I won't tolerate such failure from you or anyone else. This is your last warning._"

I guess I was wrong. And it seems telling the members of her Brigade about purchasing expensive stuff beforehand isn't a part of the leader's responsibilities, either.

But you might have noticed I've said "a weekend full of exhausting events" earlier. Did something happen on Sunday as well? Oh yes. But first things first. There's something I need to do before I tell you all about my misadventures.

"Come in!" said Asahina-san's voice when I knocked on the clubroom's door. Good, she is here. I opened the door to find out that Koizumi and Nagato were here as well, and they were in the middle of a conversation.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Koizumi who was sitting opposite to Nagato. She was holding a book in her hands, but her eyes were on Koizumi. "You haven't detected anything unusual about Shiraki?"

"I am sure," replied the alien girl. "He is a regular human being."

"I was able to tell as much from his aura." Koizumi rested his elbows on the table. "Have you noticed him getting involved into anything uncharacteristic of a regular human? Has he been in contact with anyone like you or me, for example?"

"Investigating Takahiro Shiraki's activities was not authorized. My mission is to observe Haruhi Suzumiya." Having said that, Nagato lost interest in Koizumi and returned to reading her book. Congratulations, Koizumi. Looks like you've managed to exhaust the patience of someone who had been trapped in a time loop which lasted for six centuries.

"Hi." I put my bag on a seat next to Nagato. "Digging up dirt on Shiraki? You know, if Nagato says someone is normal, you might want to believe her."

A smile appeared on Koizumi's good-looking face.

"Consider me stubborn, but I can't just accept the thought Shiraki is exactly what he appears to be. He said he knows Kyoko Tachibana. She is – or was – his neighbor, of all people out there. Add it to what I've said earlier about him when you and I left that café, and this series of coincidences becomes even less likely to be just coincidences. Something is very fishy here."

"Hmph." Asahina-san brought me some tea. This is the moment that makes my life worth living! I am so unworthy to have been blessed by being allowed to have Asahina-san's special tea! "That's what Haruhi said about Shiraki when she first saw him. "_Something is fishy here._" Now you're just obsessed with him as much as she is."

"Perhaps." Koizumi pulled a board game out of his bag. "If Nagato-san is unable to provide me with any new information, I'll just have to search for it myself. How about playing a game of Kamisado?"

"In a minute," I nodded to his offer. Although I haven't heard about that game before, I'm never against trying something new. Especially since there's always a good chance Koizumi is no better at it than I. "Nagato, I'm going to the city library today. We've been assigned a project, so I'll have to look through some encyclopedias. Wanna tag along?"

Nagato turned her head to me, her eyes wide open without blinking. I knew she loved books more than anything, and a library is like a paradise to her. Of course, I could find all information I needed on the Internet, but… I wanted to give her at least one fine day. I think she wouldn't mind to have one after what happened yesterday.

For a moment, I thought she was about to smile, but the miracle didn't happen.

"I would like to accompany you."

"Good!" I knew she couldn't refuse it. That's our Nagato. "Now… Asahina-san."

Hearing my voice, she raised her little head like a bird. God, how can someone be so cute?

"Yes?"

"I've spoken to Tsuruya. Starting today, she is going to teach you hand-to-hand combat."

"What? But…" With her hands pressed against her chest, Asahina-san closed her eyes tight and started shaking her head in denial. "No, no, no! Why did you…? I don't want it!"

"Do you think that's going to help?" Koizumi was watching us with curiosity. "An interesting decision, but considering what we're up against…"

"I'm sure. It's the least we can do to make you stronger, Asahina-san."

She looked at me as if she was about to cry. I'm sorry, but it has to be done. You have to do it. You must agree for the sake of yourself and all of us.

"Do you trust me, Asahina-san?"

Locking gazes with her, I hoped I wasn't looking scary. Pardon me if I am, Asahina-san. I want you to see the confidence in my eyes and take strength from it. Very slowly, she nodded and blinked, obviously unable to bear the constipated look on my face.

"Okay…" Heroically overcoming the shock from this sudden news, she smiled at me. "I mean, yes. Of course I trust you."

* * *

"You keep falling into the same trap, Kyon."

I was breathing heavily, convulsively gripping the hilt of a wooden sword. My left side hurt from countless strikes. It's going to be one hell of a bruise. I wonder how my ribs are still intact. I clenched my teeth, trying to control my emotions, feeling the sweat dripping down my face.

"When you are trying to attack me, you are doing exactly what I want you to do." Dressed in a kendo uniform, just like me, and holding a bokken in her right hand, Ryoko Asakura was giving me another lecture. "You see what you think is an opening in my defense and go for the open spot, and that's just what I am expecting. By doing so, you expose yourself and allow me to hit you. Not only that, your attacks are still raw and blunt."

"What did you expect from someone who has been training for just three days?" I said between my teeth. "What kind of training is this, anyway? I thought I would be, don't know, practicing swings or something. Isn't it too early for actual combat?"

Ever since this so-called training began, we've been doing nothing but clashing swords. Just like the first day, after changing into the uniform and walking inside the abnormally spacious hall, I had to try and block Asakura's incoming attacks, without any explanation about how I was supposed to do that. As for trying to attack her myself, I've had even less help there. Every time Asakura opened her mouth, it was only to comment on my sloppy style and the mistakes I've been making. Just like now.

"No, it's not." If Asakura had a soul, then she was visibly disappointed to the bottom of it. I couldn't tell what the reason was, though. Was it my poor accomplishments or my ungratefulness? Well, whose fault is that? "I'm doing my job, which is to teach you how to fight. I never thought you'd show any decent results in just a few days. But your progress is inevitable. And, in spite of your frustration…" She looked at the ceiling. I followed her line of sight, but I couldn't see anything unusual. "You refuse to give up, which is commendable."

True. Despite the ridiculousness of her training style, I felt I should not turn her offer down. And after what I said when she asked me why I wanted this, there was no going back. It is for the sake of my friends whom I want to protect that I agreed to play Dark Haruhi's game, even though she was the one threatening them. Each time I think about it, it makes less and less sense, but… I couldn't just sit and do nothing in a situation like that. There was no better alternative to accepting Asakura's help, whatever her true motives were.

"It's over for today," said Asakura. "Go and change into your clothes. I believe you are needed elsewhere."

"What do you mean?"

She raised her finger, pointing at the ceiling.

"A Closed Space has appeared right over this apartment. Can you guess who is trapped inside it?"

The sweat streaming down my face suddenly lost all its warmth. Two stories above Asakura's place lives…

"Nagato."

Damn you, Koizumi, I hate it when you are right. Now it's Nagato's turn to be Dark Haruhi's chew toy. Even though Nagato is the most powerful one in our Brigade, she might still find herself in big trouble, given Dark Haruhi's mastery of Closed Spaces.

"Correct." Asakura walked up to the stand on the wall, placing her sword on it. "If I'm not mistaken, that space has been hanging over there for half an hour now. I can't sense Nagato in her own room, which means she is inside the Closed Space. And she can't leave it on her own."

"Half an hour? Damn it, Asakura, why haven't you told me before?!" I shouted. "I could've…"

"You could've what?" She turned to me, freezing me to my bones with her ice cold eyes. "Entered it and rescued her? Kyon, you are still a big child. You know all too well that a Closed Space isn't something you can deal with on your own."

"But… didn't you just say I am needed out there?"

"I did. What I meant by it that you weren't needed until this moment. Hurry up and go if you don't want to miss all the fun."

She didn't need to repeat it again. I considered going to Nagato's room in the kendo outfit, but I thought I could spare a minute to change into my school uniform. Without saying goodbye, I ran out of Asakura's place and rushed upstairs. Two floors are a joke; it's faster to run than to wait for the elevator.

"Kyon-kun?" A familiar voice called for me. "Kyon-kun, is that you?"

I stopped when I saw a face I knew.

"Mori-san?"

A youthful-looking woman was standing in the corridor of the seventh floor. Sonou Mori, another member of the Organization. Just like Arakawa, she was present during Keiichi Tamaru's "murder" on the lone island, and now she is here, when a Closed Space created by Dark Haruhi has appeared. I guess it means other members of the Organization are here, as well.

"We were just about to call you!" Mori-san motioned me to follow her. "Your timing is too impeccable to be an accident. How did you know you had to come?"

"I was given a tip-off." The room 708 wasn't far. Mori-san opened the door and let me in. I wonder how they got it open in the first place. They didn't have to break the door, did they? "You were going to call me? Why?"

"We have an emergency situation," replied Mori-san. "Once again, we have to ask for your help. Yours and Asahina-san's."

"Asahina-san?" I began to take off my shoes, but Mori-san stopped me.

"Don't bother. You might want to keep them on. As for Asahina-san, she's not here yet. But she will arrive any minute."

"I don't understand." I moved carelessly, and my beaten-up side ached like I was punched by an invisible fist. I winced at the sudden pain, but it was gone the next moment. No, it doesn't seem like a bone fracture. "What do you need us for? Moral support?"

Before Mori-san could answer, I heard the ringing sound of an intercom bell. I cocked my ears. Someone inside the room was speaking.

"Is that you, Arakawa-san? … Yes. Is Mikuru Asahina with you? Come in and get up here. We are waiting for you."

That was Daichi Koizumi's voice. Itsuki's father was here. Good grief, I could do without another run-in with this person. Well, it didn't really matter. Moving without making any noise, like a ninja, Mori-san sneaked out into the corridor to meet the coming guests. Hey, what about my question? Oh well.

Accepting the inevitable, I made my way into the room and saw Daichi and another man I haven't met before.

"Good evening, Kyon-kun." Daichi stretched out his hand for a shake. Huh. That was a lot more different from our last meeting. Koizumi mentioned that I had earned some of his father's respect before, so I obliged and shook his hand.

"Koizumi-san." I turned to the other guy. He was roughly my age, maybe a couple of years older. I guess bowing to him would be too much.

"This is Hanigaru," introduced him Daichi. "Or rather that's what he prefers to call himself. He is our Closed Spaces expert."

"I am not _your_ expert, Daichi." The guy named Hanigaru glared at him with an offended look on his face. "I'm not even a part of your Organization anymore. For all intents and purposes, I shouldn't even be here."

Like I said before, Hanigaru was a young man who was slightly older than I. He had spiky black hair, pale skin and brown eyes, and his face was forever stuck in an annoyed expression. What is he so pissed about?

"So you are the human I was told about," said Hanigaru. A spark of curiosity lit up in his dull eyes. He was looking at me as if I was some kind of a scientific showpiece. "One of Suzumiya's lackeys. I'm not impressed."

"Don't listen to him, Kyon-kun," Daichi interrupted a second before I was going to snarl back at him. "This is his usual friendly attitude."

"Oh no, I would prefer that you listen to me, young man." Hanigaru scowled at Koizumi's father again. "What I'm saying is it's a shame you waste the best years of your life on that girl. I know better than anyone that she is a huge piece of the nastiest trouble you could possibly imagine. If I were you, I'd stay away from her as far as possible. Actually, that's what I've been doing for a few years now, and there wasn't a single day I've regretted my choice. You should try it as well."

Such healthy attitude. What's this guy's problem?

"You seem to dislike Haruhi a lot. What did she ever do to you?"

"Do you mean, apart from cursing me and dozens of other people with the ability to walk into those wretched Closed Spaces?" Hanigaru raised an eyebrow. "Forcing us to calm down storms that arise inside her mind? Do you think it's a blessing?"

I… I had to admit that I never thought about it like that. As unpleasant as he was, Hanigaru had a point. I should've known that some espers aren't glad about their duty to vanquish Celestials spawn by Haruhi's negative emotions. Come to think about it, whenever Haruhi gets a new idea how to fight her boredom and drags us along, doesn't Koizumi always say something like, "Suzumiya-san is having a lot of fun, which reduces the chance of a Closed Space emerging"? I was dumbstruck by this revelation. Koizumi was just as pissed off at Haruhi as Hanigaru. The difference is, Hanigaru was much more sincere about it.

"I know what you're talking about," I nodded. "I've been to Closed Spaces a few times. It was no fun at all."

"Yet you remain by Suzumiya's side." He was staring at me inquisitively. "Why? Could it be that you consider her… a friend?"

I nodded once again.

"Don't try to understand it, though. It is not a rational thing. Just accept it as the truth."

"My, my." Hanigaru's mouth shaped into a sad half-smile. "Is it a voluntary choice? If so, then you and the Organization have more in common than I thought. Which will do you no good."

Whatever. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I decided to switch to more important matters at hand.

"Koizumi-san," I addressed to Itsuki's father, getting straight to the point. "Where is Itsuki?"

"Where else could he be?" snorted Daichi. "Inside the Closed Space that has formed over this building, of course. He and a few other espers went there to investigate, but not before they noticed that the entrance was right here, in Nagato's room… And Nagato herself has vanished. She must be inside the space, as well."

"It's not… it's not like the last time, is it?"

"Definitely not," shook his head Daichi. "Itsuki's body isn't here anywhere. The same can be said of his team. But they've been out there for too long, which makes me suspicious. This may not be a regular Closed Space, created by Suzumiya-san. That's why Hanigaru is here."

"He called me and said it was an urgent matter, and that he needed me to come over and lend him some help," Hanigaru sighed and pulled his hands inside the pockets. "After three years have passed, you're acting like nothing happened, Daichi. Do you even feel any qualms about that?"

"No." Daichi frowned. "You are alive and well, and still bickering, as usual. What more could you possibly want?"

"Never having to deal with you espers would be just fine." Hanigaru rolled his eyes. "What did you mean when you said it might not be a regular Closed Space? Did something change during my retirement?"

"I don't mind telling you about that. However, I'm afraid you'll have to be reinstated as a member of the Organization first. This kind of information is classified."

"Ah. Forget I ever asked, then." Hanigaru craned his neck. "Looks like we have new visitors. Old man Arakawa and… wow."

The door of Nagato's room opened, and Arakawa stepped inside. Asahina-san and Mori-san were behind him. My personal favorite moe girl tried to remain unseen, hiding between those two, but then she noticed me.

"Kyon!" Her angelic face, darkened with worrying and fear of the unknown, was beautiful nonetheless. "And Koizumi-san, and… um…"

"Is that the time traveler?" Almost as if he could read my furious thoughts, Hanigaru got his eyes off Asahina-san's body and turned to Daichi. "I've never seen one before. I can hardly tell the difference between her and an ordinary person, like this… Kyon."

He's probably thinking what a stupid nickname I had. I don't disagree, but the last thing I want is a person I barely know laughing at it.

"This room is getting more crowded than I prefer." Hanigaru raised his hand. "All right, let's get to business. The reason why Daichi wants me here is to explain why he can't send another team of espers and why he has to rely on Suzumiya's friends. Watch this."

Hanigaru made a sudden stabbing movement with the hand he had raised before. I blinked. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but they weren't wrong. Hanigaru's arm was extended, but his wrist vanished completely! All I could see in his jacket's sleeve was darkness. It was just like Herbert Wells' Invisible Man. Asahina-san was watching in awe, too.

"As I've mentioned before, I used to be a member of the Organization, so I am an esper, just like them." Hanigaru nodded his head at Mori-san and Arakawa. "But I am different. My powers are more versatile, and I was never above experimenting with them. What you are seeing right now is my probing ability. I can stick my hand into this Closed Space and tell you about its properties."

Hanigaru's face took on a contemplative look.

"This is truly amazing. I don't recall Suzumiya ever creating a masterpiece like this. I didn't believe my own senses when I probed it for the first time."

"Get to the point, Hanigaru." Daichi was starting to lose his patience.

"The Closed Space I am probing right now has a very dense environment. Which analogy should I draw… Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to move underwater? That's because water's density is a lot higher than that of the air. It restrains your movements, making them slower, and you have to apply more force to move your limbs. That's the kind of the Closed Space Itsuki went into. And that's where your alien friend is."

"You can tell all that just by shoving your hand inside it?" I was having a hard time trying to comprehend everything he just said.

"And I am proud to say I am the only one who knows this trick!" Hanigaru smiled, baring his teeth. "Not even Itsuki can pull this off, and his potential is fairly the strongest in the whole Organization. I actually regret I've never bothered myself showing him a thing or two, but I don't miss him bad enough to rectify this small mistake."

"I see. You're something of a prodigy, then."

I didn't know that espers' powers varied in potential. So Koizumi is the strongest? Now I'm kinda curious. Perhaps I should question him about the full extent of his powers.

"But still, what you've described doesn't sound like a problem to someone like Nagato."

"Hush. I'm still talking." Hanigaru waved his finger. "This space's density is much, much higher than water's. Its environment is so dense that any unlucky esper who wanders inside it loses their ability to move. Entirely. And it's more than just that. It doesn't stop them physically, but mentally as well. Itsuki and others are inside this Closed Space, frozen and completely unaware of their surroundings. Their powers are a liability now. The space affects everyone who has the ability to enter it. Which is why…" He pointed his finger at me. "You and your time traveler friend are going in."

"What?"

I didn't notice Asahina-san was standing near me until she clutched my arm. The prospect of going into a Closed Space again wasn't cheerful at all. How many times has she actually been inside one? I think the pitch-black space with the invisible monster was her first time.

"That's right. Because you are a human with no special powers, and, as I was told, your friend had lost her time traveling device, which reduced her to a mere human being, we can send you in safely. You will be able to move inside this space's dense environment freely, because you will be two walking anomalies. Then you will just have to locate Itsuki and others and find a way out."

This Hanigaru person surely knew how to make himself useful, impressing others in the process. I imagine the Organization lost much when he left. But why did he really leave? Simply because he hated to be Haruhi's toy soldier? Or was there another reason?

"And what are we going to find in there?" I asked. "Furthermore, how do we find a way out?"

Hanigaru withdrew his arm. I could see a breach in the air which closed itself momentarily. The retired esper bent the fingers on his reappeared hand.

"Not my problem."

Is he serious? That's where his help ends? That's not even half of the job we are supposed to do here!

"Hanigaru…"

"You asked me a favor, Daichi." He looked at Koizumi's father with a peevish expression. "You wanted me to explain what was happening inside this Closed Space. I just did. You never said anything about actually solving your issue. Besides, if you want to leave a Closed Space, you have to enter it first. Will you volunteer to accompany these poor children and help them find an exit?"

Daichi closed his eyes, turning black in his face. Judging by the exchanges between those two, now I really wanted to know what happened between them in the past. The arrogant esper bared his teeth once again.

"Didn't think so."

"Then… do one last thing for me, please?" Daichi manned up and straightened back. "Send Kyon-kun and Asahina-san in. You are the only one here who is talented enough to do it without going inside the space themselves."

"Such sweet, sweet flattery. You can be truly nice to others when you want to, Daichi." Hanigaru approached me and Asahina-san, putting his hands on our shoulders. "Are you ready, kids? This might feel a little dizzy. One thing before you go: in case you die inside the Closed Space, don't worry – nobody is going to find your bodies until it dissolves. Say cheese!"

"Wa—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Hanigaru pushed us away from him. A sudden bright flash of light blinded me for a moment. I could hear Asahina-san's short shout, and then I fell on something soft and abrasive. I blinked. My sight cleared. I could see orange sky high above me, with clouds slowly drifting across it.

"Kyon?" Asahina-san's face appeared over me. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." I sat up and looked around. A vast desert was before my eyes. The substance I was sitting on was sand. Well, good thing this Closed Space doesn't take our vision away. It was actually a very pretty view. "What about you? Are you hurt?"

"No," she shook her head. "I'm fine. Um… Kyon? What is that?"

She was pointing at my left side. I looked down and was stupefied by what I saw. Something long was attached to my left side by a belt, which was buttoned to my undercoat. Where did this come from?

"What the…"

I got up on my feet. Once I was standing up, I noticed another detail. On the long item's end, the one closer to my left side, was something which resembled a… sword hilt?

"Is that really a sword?" asked Asahina-san with fascination in her voice. "Where were you hiding it all this time, Kyon?"

"I wasn't!" I grabbed the hilt with my right hand, filled with surprise. I have no idea why I had a sword all of a sudden, but it was so cool I was trembling with rapture. Eager to see what this sword looked like, I pulled the hilt and…

"You've gotta be kidding me."

It didn't have a blade. I was holding the sword hilt, but there was nothing else. I fiddled it in my hand, carefully examining it, but there was no sign of a blade every sword is supposed to have. I closed my eyes and facepalmed with my free hand. I don't know what's stranger: the fact that something I didn't have appeared in my possession, or that it was an unusable weapon.

"Look!"

I turned around and saw some figures a few steps away from us. Five people were standing motionlessly. One of them was wearing a North High uniform.

"Is that Koizumi?" I ran up to him for a closer look. Koizumi's eyes didn't move, and neither did a single muscle on his face when I approached him. I patted him on his shoulder. Nothing happened.

"This is Koizumi-kun's mother, Hotaru-san!" Asahina-san was timidly looking at the woman in front of her. She was right, it was indeed Koizumi's mother, standing here like a statue. "And Keiichi-san, and Yutaka-san… And I'm not familiar with this lady."

"It's just like Hanigaru said." I tried to push Koizumi, but it was like trying to push a tree. He still didn't move a single inch. "This Closed Space froze them in place. They can't move, and I think we have to agree on what he said about their awareness as well. They don't even recognize we're here."

"But where is Nagato-san?" The time traveler looked around, and a moment later she pointed a direction. "And what is that pillar?"

Asahina-san's finger was pointing at a tall white object on the horizon. I had to squint because the setting sun's rays were hurting my eyes. Wait, it's the first time I see the sun in a Closed Space. Haruhi's subconsciousness can only create gloomy replicas of our city, with glowing blue Celestials as the only source of light. Yes, this space definitely isn't her work. "_As if it wasn't obvious enough already,_" said a little mocking voice inside my head. Yeah, silly me.

"It's not a pillar." Squinting helped me make out the white thing's small features. "It's a tower."

It was approximately a hundred meters high. The tower was covered with small black dots, which had to be windows, and it was embraced with a spiral line from the bottom to the top. No, it's still too far away to be sure what exactly that tower was. We need to come closer for a better look. Might as well find something there.

"We can't do anything for Koizumi and the rest just now," I said. "And that tower is the only other thing that's here. Maybe Nagato is inside it. Let's go, Asahina-san."

"Sure. Kyon… Do you mind if I…"

A soft blush appeared on her cheeks, her eyes hid behind her gorgeous hair, increasing her cuteness by as much as 37 percent. Asahina-san wavered for a moment, and I felt her hand in my own, with our fingers intertwined before I could say a word. My heart was pounding so hard and fast as if it was trying to break out of my chest and run away screaming with joy. Could I refuse her and take my hand away? What kind of stupid question is that?

Still holding the useless hilt in my other hand, I and Asahina-san headed towards the white tower. Walking on sand wasn't easy. I felt it get inside my shoes and through my socks, rubbing my toes. Asahina-san must be having the same problem now, but she didn't complain, so neither did I. After all, this moment was so perfect and heartwarming, despite the nature of the place we were in and the reason we were here. It's like it was created for the very purpose to let me and Asahina-san enjoy some time together.

This harmless thought gave me cold sweat all of a sudden. This isn't a game, Kyon. It's a Closed Space, created to trap the espers and Nagato here. And you and Asahina-san just happen to be immune to its effects. Do you think it's an accident, or maybe an oversight on Dark Haruhi's behalf?

Don't be so naїve!

I get it now. This Closed Space is a trap. But the real prey isn't Nagato, or Koizumi, or his mother, or anyone from the Organization. They are merely a bait, placed here to lure me and Asahina-san. But which one of us is the target? Is it me? Is it Asahina-san? Or both?

I stopped a few meters away from the tower.

"Kyon?"

"Show yourself," I muttered while lifting my head. Is there any chance Dark Haruhi was watching us like the last time? Is this tower where she resides? Is Nagato a prisoner here?

"Kyon!" exclaimed Asahina-san's voice. "Your sword!"

I looked at the hilt I was holding and didn't believe my own eyes. It had a long metal blade now. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure it wasn't some kind of an overly long and weird dream, but both of my hands were busy. So I just had to accept what I saw. My right hand was holding a katana.

"When did it appear?" I asked Asahina-san. "Sometime during our walk?"

"No," she shook her head. "I think it appeared just now. But why?"

I didn't know the answer to this, either. Am I going to fight with it? But it's too early. I suck at kendo, and Asakura herself said that my skills have yet to begin improving. So why did I have a real katana when I couldn't even handle a wooden sword?

"Asahina-san." I pulled my hand out of her grip and raised the sword, holding the hilt with both hands tightly. "Stay behind me. I don't know the meaning of this, but there must be a reason why I have a weapon."

"Ehh… Yes, Kyon."

The line on the tower I saw before was actually a spiral staircase. I couldn't see any doors on the tower's white surface, only creepy black windows which looked like empty eye sockets. I raised my head as high as I could, trying to see what was on the top. Making a few steps back, I was able to see something that resembled… a chess piece. A black chess piece, clearly visible against the tower's white wall.

"Do you see what I see, Asahina-san? What is that black thing?"

"Huuuh… Hmph…"

And then, when I expected it the least, the chess piece moved. I shuddered, raising my sword higher and preparing to block a possible attack. The thing jumped off whatever it was standing on and began falling.

"Kyaa!" shouted Asahina-san.

What the hell…? Next moment, the chess piece had red wings, but its fall didn't slow down a little bit. Like an ink stain on white paper, it grew bigger and bigger as it was approaching the ground – and us. I frowned and noticed the chess piece had arms and legs. It had a human body! And the thing I mistook for wings was a red cape. No, wait. The cape was red only on the inside, but black on the outside.

"Is that you, Batman?"

As soon as I said those words, the figure in the cape vanished from my sight. Where did it go? I turned around, trying to spot it, but with no success. The caped person had disappeared. Before I could even swear through my teeth, the ground shook under our feet.

"Kyon!" Asahina-san grasped my jacket so intensely she might accidentally tear off a piece of cloth. "What's happening?"

Sand splattered everywhere I was looking, and something long and black protruded from the ground and reached for me and Asahina-san. Tentacles? No… Tree branches? In a desert? Idiot, you are in a Closed Space! I dodged a black branch that was aiming for my head and swung my katana, cutting it in half. Two more stretched out in a screaming Asahina-san's direction. I cut the first one without any effort, but the time traveler was between me and the second one.

"Asahina-san! Duck!"

"What?"

"Get down, I said!"

She fell on the sand, covering her head with arms, and I slashed through the branch just in time. I looked around, but couldn't see any more other things coming to attack us. Letting out a heavy breath, I allowed myself to relax for the moment and lowered the sword.

"Are you okay?"

Asahina-san's eyes opened wide, and she wailed in terror as a thick black line wrapped around her waist. Before I could even react, another branch lifted her in the air, coming from under the spot Asahina-san was lying on, and soon all I could see was a small crying spot on the branch's end high above me.

"ASAHINA-SAN!"

It was lifting her higher and higher, carrying her to the top of the tower, as far as I could tell. And I couldn't even cut the damn branch, because Asahina-san would fall on the ground. I'd only end up killing her with my own hands. I laid my eyes on the spiral stairs. There was only one path ahead of me.

"Hang on!" I shouted, gripping the katana's hilt, and ran towards the staircase. As soon as my foot landed on the first step, more branches appeared, crawling out of the closest window. Looks like those "eye sockets" aren't as empty as I thought. Cutting through them with one swing, I began climbing up, but then something grabbed my ankle, and I fell.

"Ah crap!"

The staircase didn't have a banister. I was very lucky not to fall off. I looked back and saw another bunch of branches that was holding my leg and attempting to drag me closer to the window. I don't think I want to go there…

"Hah!"

Aiming carefully so I wouldn't accidentally chop off my own leg, I managed to cleave through one of the black boughs. The grip weakened, and I was able to get closer and cut off the rest of them, but then even more crept out of the hole in the tower and reached for me. There's no end to them! I got up and tried to get away from them as fast as I could, only to face more of the cursed things stretching out of the next window.

"You aren't stopping me!" Yelling from the top of my lungs, I struck as hard as I could, severing the branches and clearing my way. I figured that I had to cut through them as fast as possible and run upstairs, so none of them had the time to grab me from behind. And because there was no banister, I had to be careful not to fall. The higher I get, the deader I will become if I fall down.

The tower was about one hundred meters high…

Working in a rhythm, I was making my way to the top. Step, step, step – cut; step, step, step – cut…I was trying to strike the branches as closer to the windows as possible, so they wouldn't remain an obstacle. And I was moving fast enough so they didn't have the time to bend, aim at me and thrust. I had no room to dodge something like that. I kept that in mind as I continued to swing my katana at the black branches in my way. How many times have I already done that? Dozens, hundreds? Barely a few minutes have passed. How far was the top of the tower? I dared look not. All my attention was focused on swinging, cutting and watching my step.

And at last, the stairs ended, and the white wall with its countless windows was below me. On the top was a plain round court, as white as the whole tower. I sighed in relief when I saw a short petite figure standing near the edge. Nagato, I found you!

"Hey, Nagato!" I went up closer to her. Just like Koizumi and his team, she was immobilized. Wait… Not quite. She was standing still like a statue, but her lips were moving. Very slowly.

"Nagato?"

No response. Her eyes were staring at one spot, and she most likely didn't acknowledge my presence. However, her mouth was moving without producing a sound. It was opening and closing at an agonizingly low speed. Didn't Hanigaru say nobody with powers would be able to move in this Closed Space? It seems like he wasn't entirely right. Not even a space like this could stop Nagato completely. I bet she is trying to use her data manipulation ability, but her fast-paced spell-casting speech was slowed down to a near halt. "Near" was the key word. I sighed helplessly. Even though the hold on Nagato wasn't 100% perfect, she still couldn't do much to solve the situation. It's up to me to find a way out.

Wait a second. Where is Asahina-san?

The ground under my feet shook once again. I spread my legs in order to keep my balance. Hold on, I'm on the top of the tower now, not on the ground. Why is the tower shaking?

With a deafening noise, a huge crack appeared on the white floor. More black branches, longer and thicker than before, showed before my eyes. Protruding from the hole, they were tying together and taking on a bulky shape. I heard a girl's screams. A particularly thick branch was holding Asahina-san who was screeching relentlessly now, and in the blink of an eye she was covered with other black boughs, hidden from my view, her screams muffled beyond hearing.

"ASAHINA-SAN!"

But shouting didn't help a slightest bit. Meanwhile, all the branches formed into a creature which looked like a monster from a video game. It was twice as tall as me, and as wide as a bus. Raising my sword, I asked myself how I was going to fight this thing. I didn't have a single clue. All I knew for certain was that attacking the monster's torso could harm Asahina-san. So what was I left with? Its arms and legs, too thick for my katana to cut?

A huge fist flew to my face. I took my feet off the ground, bending my knees simultaneously, allowing myself to duck faster than if I had just sat instead. The giant's arm moved right above my head, while I used the opportunity to strike its leg. I didn't manage to cut too deep. The leg was as thick as an average log, and my sword barely scratched it. With the corner of my eye, I noticed the fist was rapidly falling on my head, so I rolled aside, holding on to the sword as dearly as if it was my life. I heard a loud _crack! _when the giant hit the floor, giving me a good impression about what will happen if that fist connects with my body. Getting up on my feet, I backed a few steps away, trying to figure out my next move.

The branch monster turned around quickly, swinging its arm. I had enough distance to try and block it with my blade, but the blow was too strong. It made me lose my balance, and the creature spun in the opposite direction starkly, hitting my still sore left side.

This mighty hit beat the breath out of me and sent me flying. Desperately gasping for air, I felt the sharp pain in my body and hazily realized that a couple of my ribs aren't whole anymore. I hit the floor, but my movement wasn't over yet, and I felt the solid ground disappear from under my body as I rolled over the edge. I stretched out my left arm and grabbed something, stopping my fall. I looked up to see what it was I was holding. It was warm and thin, and my hand could feel the touch of a soft stocking… Nagato's ankle! Trying not to think what would've happened if the monster tossed me in a different direction, I raised my right hand and held the sword's hilt in my teeth, like Roronoa Zoro, and used my now free hand to climb up. Oops, I'm terribly sorry, Nagato, I didn't mean to see that. Nice angle, though.

While getting back on the steady ground, I've noticed a bunch of boughs still protruding from the hole in the floor and connecting to the monster's body. This gave me an idea. It's going to be a tough thing to pull off with my broken ribs, however… The giant raised its fist, targeting me again, and when it lunged at me, it was rather easy to dodge. Ducking under its arm, I ended up behind its back and struck the branches – or should I say "roots" this time? – with all strength I had, cutting through them as if they were butter.

The giant shivered and wheezed as the boughs it was composed off began to rot and crumble. Looks like I've hit the jackpot! The monster collapsed on its knees, falling apart and ceasing to exist. The cage around Asahina-san broke down, revealing the unconscious girl… And then I was blinded by a sudden flash of light.

"Look, Daichi-san! They are back! All of them!"

A familiar voice cut through the momentary silence. Mori-san…

"Itsuki! Hotaru! Are you alright?"

"Father? What… Why are we here? We were supposed to… Kyon?"

I had to do some very intense squinting to regain my sight, but it was still very blurred and muzzy. I could tell we were in Nagato's apartment again, though. The Closed Space had vanished.

And so had the sword in my hand. And the belt, and the scabbard. There was nothing on my left side… except all this blood…

* * *

You can easily guess what happened next. Nagato was unfrozen, just like the others, and tended to my injuries immediately. Hanigaru was gone long before we had returned – in fact, he left as soon as he sent me and Asahina-san into the Closed Space. Nobody missed him, except Koizumi, who was upset he lost an opportunity to meet with his old friend and former associate. I told the present company about everything that happened in the space, including the mysterious caped figure. Koizumi suggested that I saw Dark Haruhi in the flesh, but neither he nor Nagato could confirm this theory because both of them were frozen and couldn't see anyone. When Asahina-san recovered, she vouched for my incredible story. Of course, she was unable to see my fight with the branch giant, but it was enough for everyone to believe that I wasn't embellishing anything.

That night, I was a hero. And Asahina-san's admiration which was shown on her face was the best reward I could ask for, even better than Daichi's firm handshake and Tamaru brothers' patting on my shoulders. But I didn't need all those honors and praises. I wanted to go home where a soft bed in a dark room was waiting for me. Arakawa gladly volunteered to take me to my place where the happy reunion occurred, but in the morning, I didn't feel fresh and rested at all. Good grief. What's the point in sleep if it doesn't help you regain your energy?

I was walking up the hill the North High school was standing upon when the voice of the girl I had to see every day since the first day of this month called for me.

"I've heard about your yesterday deed," smiled Asakura brightly while catching up with me. "I told you your progress was inevitable. Glad to see that my lessons begin to bear fruit so soon. Well done, Kyon!"

"Oh, you're glad, aren't you?" I stopped to give her the most furious look I could make. "You know what, Asakura? Screw you, screw your lessons, screw your master! Screw all the sick games you and Dark Haruhi are playing with us! I'm fed up with all this crap, so just stop bothering me, okay?!"

Asakura withstood all my ranting, smiling nonchalantly. I turned my back at her and headed to school, hoping that this day will be peaceful for a change. I wanted some normal life more than ever.

"Don't forget to come over today, Kyon!" I heard Asakura's voice behind me. "You won't like it if I will be forced to drag you to my place myself."

I clenched my teeth. I had no choice there and I knew it. I could do nothing about Asakura and her stupid kendo training. But there was something else I could do without Dark Haruhi getting in the way. This idea visited my mind as soon as I woke up this morning.

"Hey, Tsuruya-san!"

A girl with long green hair turned around at the sound of my voice and broke into laughter instantly.

"Kyon! Why, hello there!" She approached me face to face, curiously glaring at me. "Why do you look so angry? Did something happen to you?"

"Tsuruya-san, I have a question for you." Her shining eyes, full of energy, were locked on me. "Do you happen to be a master in any kind of martial arts?"

"Huh?" Tsuruya tilted her head, and a naughty smile appeared on her face. "Just how do you know that, nyoro~? I don't remember telling about it even to Mikuru."

"Tsuruya-san, listen. This is important." I looked around to make sure nobody is eavesdropping on us and lowered my voice. "I'm asking you to teach Asahina-san whatever skills you know. She must learn how to fight, and as soon as possible."

Tsuruya crossed her arms over her chest.

"You are giving me the creeps, Kyon. What is this all about? Are there any douchebags harassing my Mikuru? Just tell me their names, and I'll bash their stupid heads!"

I put my hand on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't be asking you for this if it wasn't of the highest importance. But I can't tell you all the details. I'll just say there is a certain someone giving our entire Brigade hell, and Asahina-san is the most vulnerable. Tsuruya-san." My face was so close to hers our foreheads were almost touching. "She may not carry any weapons. But nobody ever said she can't use her own fists. Please, train her. Start today and train her every day until she is strong enough to deal with any kind of danger."

The smile vanished from Tsuruya's face. She could tell I was dead serious, and this matter wasn't something to joke about. And she would do anything for Asahina-san. She nodded, returning me the serious look.

"You've come to the right person, Kyon. Don't worry, I'll share whatever knowledge I have with Mikuru. But… May I at least know what is going on?"

"Sure." I let go off Tsuruya. "As soon as we get it sorted out ourselves. Thank you, Tsuruya-san. I'll see you around!"


	10. Chapter 9: Big Talker and Small Talker

_**Chapter 9. Big Talker and Small Talker**_

"Now, Koizumi," satisfied by achieving the result I wanted, I turned to my esper nakama. "What were you saying about playing a game? I'm still interested."

"If that's the case, let's play it." Koizumi opened a box and pulled out a board which looked much like a chessboard, but instead of black and white, its squares were of many different colors. Next, he got sixteen pieces out, which were of the same colors as the board's squares. Each one of them looked like a small tower with a dragon on its top side. Half of the pieces' dragons were black, and the rest of them had gold dragons. Koizumi took one with a gold dragon and one with a black dragon, hiding them from my eyes under the table, and a moment later he stretched his arms, both of his hands doubled in fists. Without thinking, I pointed at his left hand. Opening his fist, Koizumi revealed a green piece with a gold dragon.

"So the first move is mine?" I asked.

"No," smiled Koizumi. "In Kamisado, black goes first."

Tough luck. Well, it's not like the first move can play an important role and affect the whole game. As long as the forces are even, at least.

"How do we play this game, anyway?"

"The rules are fairly simple," said Koizumi while putting the pieces with black dragons on the board. He was placing them in such a way that every tower matched the color of the square it was standing on. I figured I should do the same with my own towers and started placing them on the board's bottom row in that pattern. "The object of Kamisado is to get one of your towers on your opponent's Home Row – the one where the towers are standing in the beginning of the game. In order to do that, you must move your towers during every turn. You can make moves in every forward direction, which is either directly forward or diagonally. You can also move a tower through any number of spaces during a turn. However," Koizumi raised his finger, "you may not cross an occupied square. Another limitation is, once you make a move with a tower, that tower cannot change the direction it's moving towards. That means, if I move a piece like this…" He took a crimson-colored tower and put it on a closest square in front of it. "It can only go straight forward, and I may not move it diagonally. It works the other way around, as well."

Sounds easy enough so far.

"So if I move a tower forward, it can only go forward, and if I move another tower diagonally to the left, it can't go forward or diagonally to the right?"

"Precisely," nodded Koizumi. "As I've told you, the rules of this game are very simple."

"All right…" I popped the knuckles on my hands, producing a sweet cracking sound, and reached for a piece. "Then it's my turn now."

"Wait," stopped me Koizumi. "There are still a few more rules left. The most important one dictates the only allowable way to move your towers. The reason why this board and the pieces have many different colors is because you may only make a move with a tower which is of the same color as the square on which I ended my turn. Look at the tower I've just moved."

Koizumi lifted the crimson piece slightly so I could have a better look on the space it was standing on. It was yellow.

"Because I've placed a tower on a yellow square, now you have to make a move with a piece of the same color." He put the piece back on its place. "Choose a direction in which your yellow tower will be moving for the rest of the game. Depending on the color of the square you will end your move on, next turn, I will have to use a piece of that color."

And there was the twist. I think it would be a good idea to find out if there are more of them. However, before I could open my mouth and ask, Koizumi was already speaking again:

"As the game progresses, one of us may find himself in a situation where he cannot make a move with a tower of the required color. The piece could be blocked by another piece, or maybe it has been moving diagonally and ended up on the edge of the board. In case that happens, the one who cannot move his tower will have to pass the turn, and the other player will move a piece of the same color as the square where his opponent's immobilized tower is standing. To put it simpler, if you have to use the blue piece but you cannot, and let's say it is standing on a pink square, my next move will be with the pink piece. Do you follow?"

I repeated everything he just said in my head. This rule is kinda complicated.

"I think I got it. Go on. Any other things I should know?"

"Just one more, and we can finally start playing," nodded Koizumi. "While there is a single way to win, which is to place a tower on the end of the board, there are two ways to lose. The first one is to let your opponent reach your Home Row before you reach his. The other one is to cause a situation when neither of us can make a move: that is, when all of our pieces are blocked in one way or another. Should that happen, the player who made the last move is the loser."

He went silent, indicating that he was done with explaining the rules of the game. Well… I can sincerely say that this game, Kamisado, is an unusual one. But is it as easy as it appears to be on the first sight? Well, only one way to find out. I took my yellow tower and placed it on a purple square, two places in front of it.

"It is a very interesting game, don't you think?" Koizumi's fingers picked up the purple tower with a black dragon, and he made his move. "You build your strategy by dictating your opponent how he is going to act and by trying to predict how he will make you respond. One could say it is not a fair game, but situations with similar conditions happen in our life more often than one could imagine."

"Uh-huh." Now was my turn, and I used the green piece. "Koizumi, while we're playing, let's change the subject. I would like to talk about someone."

Koizumi's face took on a curious look.

"And who would that be?"

I stopped to think for a moment. Should I move my towers forward towards the ones Koizumi is moving forward too? Sooner or later, those towers will be blocked and unable to move, but so will Koizumi's…

"It's about that Hanigaru guy. He has intrigued me a lot. I'd like to know more about him."

I hope Koizumi doesn't get the wrong impression from my words. It seemed like he didn't, as he had a serene smile on his face while thinking about his strategy.

"Hanigaru had intrigued us all when the Organization just came to be," said Koizumi after making a decision and plotting a course for another tower. "It was a few days after I woke up one morning and realized I had become an esper. My parents had made the same discovery, but we were reluctant to talk about it at first, until we sensed something was calling for us. Something we couldn't see but were still aware of was alluring us. That day, we took our car and drove far away, to where we could sense the source of that call. That's how we discovered Suzumiya-san's first Closed Space."

The history behind Koizumi's Organization… I haven't been interested in hearing it before – or rather, I never considered learning about it, but now that Koizumi has started telling how it all began, I realized that I wanted to know. Did I really regain my curiosity about the supernatural? Or was it ordinary curiosity? Hard to say. Asahina-san, who was using Haruhi's computer while she was absent, stopped browsing or whatever she was doing and listened in.

"We arrived at a hill in the western part of the city. We stopped the car because we felt an invisible boundary and thought it would be unwise to drive right through it. When we stepped out, thoughts of doubt visited our minds. Why had we come there? Wasn't it madness to go and look for a place because of a sudden urge to do so? If it was, then how could all three of us – myself and my parents – lose our sanity at the same time and in the same way? Then I told them: if we made it this far, there was no point in turning back. If we saw the white rabbit and followed him to his hole, why not look how deep it was?"

I turned my head to Nagato and her book. I wonder if Koizumi really did say that line to his parents or if he made it up just now. Because he might have noticed that the book Nagato was reading was Lewis Carroll's _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_.

"Once we could tell where exactly the boundary lied and noticed that we could show to each other where the entry point was and get the same result while showing it, we convinced ourselves that it wasn't madness after all. Somehow, this wasn't delusion. It was reality. Determined to uncover the nature of this mystery, we crossed the boundary and found ourselves in the exact same place, but with a dark sky without sun, moon or stars. Something – intuition, if you like – told us that wherever we had just ended up wasn't a part of the world we knew. It was getting curiouser and curiouser."

Yep, he was definitely referencing _Alice_.

"Being in a Closed Space for the first time felt very strange," continued Koizumi without stopping the game. "Knowing that it was outside of the usual reality and that it had a creator… The feeling was similar to what you experience when you enter a sacred temple and feel God's presence in it. I don't suppose you felt the same way when I brought you in a Closed Space for the first time, did you?"

"Nope. Must be one of your esper things."

"Exactly," laughed Koizumi. "Fortunately for you, you are not meant to be attuned to Closed Spaces, as you are an ordinary human. We, however, became different overnight. We weren't sure how and why it happened, but the answer was waiting for us within that strange gloomy world. It wasn't long before we realized we were not alone there. Other people, who wandered there because they felt the call too, were in the Closed Space as well, and more of them kept coming. That's how we all met. You know some of them – Arakawa, Mori-san, Tamaru brothers – but believe me, there are many more you haven't met yet."

Stretching out in my chair, I thought that Koizumi's tale would be better with some hot tea, and then I noticed I still had a cup right before my eyes. Thank goodness, it was still warm. How embarrassing would it be to let Asahina-san's heavenly tea go cold and lose its magnificent taste? No way I'm letting it happen.

"Let me guess: when you all ran into each other, it was one awkward meeting."

"No, it wasn't." Looks like Koizumi also forgot about his tea. Unlike mine, it must have already been cold, since he came to the clubroom earlier than me. "We were confused, but we were many. Together, we could overcome our insecurity and acquaint ourselves with each other even in such an abnormal situation. It wasn't awkward at all, until a black-haired boy stepped in, looking at me."

Koizumi made a grumpy face and let out a disapproving hum.

"_A child…_" he said, lowering his voice. "_He's just a little boy. Why did you bring him here? What were you thinking?_" Those were the first words he said to my parents. Naturally, they were not pleased by his attitude and asked him to be polite when he speaks to grown-ups. However, they had to agree he had a point, since we still didn't have a single clue about the nature of the place we found ourselves in. When I asked the boy for his name, he looked away and told me to call him Hanigaru. That was the starting point in his and my family's relationship."

Some starting point it was, I imagine. I could almost hear Daichi angrily telling Hanigaru to watch his mouth, Hotaru agreeing about the possible danger of bringing a twelve-year-old Koizumi to a Closed Space, and Koizumi himself amicably asking what Hanigaru's name was. I guess Koizumi inherited his temper from his mother rather than his father.

"Once we gathered, we began sharing whatever pieces of knowledge we had with each other. Every one of us knew about the changes that occurred within us; nonetheless, the realization was vague and barely comprehensible. We also knew instinctively that there was a person out there who was responsible for changing us, though we couldn't tell who exactly it was at first. But we knew we could find that person, because there was an odd… attraction. Like a compass arrow pointing to the north, we could sense where that person was. That is, while we were in the real world. In that space, closed from the normal reality, the arrow went completely insane, which can only happen if you actually are at the North Magnetic Pole… or inside our mysterious benefactor's soul. Once we realized that, our only desire was to find out who created that dark place. But in order to do that, we needed to find a way back to the real world. And that's when we heard a loud crash."

I think I knew where this story was going. The only thing capable of making crashing sounds in a Closed Space could only be a…

"We saw large blue glowing figures, smashing the buildings around them. Somehow, we also knew we were the only human beings within the Closed Space, and we didn't have to worry about those giants hurting anyone inside those buildings. But we could tell that we couldn't let them continue their rampage. It would have drastic consequences for the real world, even though it was separate from that space. Immediately, all of us gained new knowledge, and it was about how to use the power within us. We encased ourselves in red spheres and took off the ground, floating in mid-air at first, and then actually flying. I can't describe the way it felt. It was amazing, but also much more. So different from how an ordinary human feels. We knew how to use this power, and what to use it for. But it didn't turn out to be as easy as it seemed. Attacking the giants proved to be difficult. Cutting them into pieces for the first time was a lot harder than it is nowadays with our experience. And the giants fought back, too, swinging their enormous arms at us. We scattered, and then we noticed someone split away from our group and landed on a nearby apartment's roof, bringing down his red sphere. It was Hanigaru. He waved his hand at the giant, and… It stopped attacking us, just like that. It froze in place without moving for a second, and then it turned around and headed towards its fellows. Before we realized what was going on, the giant began landing punches on the other giants."

"No way!" exclaimed Asahina-san. "Are you saying he… he took control of the Celestial?"

Koizumi nodded. My God… that guy surely is good. No wonder Koizumi said before he intrigued the whole Organization.

"How is that even possible?"

"That he never explained to us," Koizumi answered my question. "When we asked him about it later that day, he said he simply knew subconsciously how to do it. Predictably, it helped us a lot in our first battle. While the giants were distracted, we were easily able to overwhelm and defeat them. Once we did, the Closed Space disappeared, and we returned to the real world, with new impressions and the realization that our lives were changed forever. And so, our next step was finding the source of our powers. Using our sense which was similar to a compass arrow, we easily located the mysterious person. Imagine our surprise when we found out it was just a twelve-year-old girl, same age as me at that time. We saw her leaving from a baseball stadium with her parents… And we knew it was her. She gave us the power. She created the Closed Space. She made those blue giants destroy everything around them and expand the space's territory. And we prevented it from swallowing the entire world. It wasn't a pleasant discovery."

"Why? Because a little girl was responsible for all that?"

"No, although it did add insult to injury. The situation, already bizarre and insane, became even more absurd. The power to create miracles somehow ended up in a little girl's hands. We didn't know what to make of it, at first. We knew, however, that there would be more Closed Spaces, and everyone would be in danger if they are not taken care of. That's how a bunch of random strangers became the Organization you know. There never appeared anyone whom others would want to acknowledge as a leader, so we made a decision: all of us would be equal. Whatever tasks we would have at hand, we'd split them between each other, and one would always help another if such a need ever rose."

He made it sound so easy. I wonder how many of them objected and didn't want to join. Some heavy persuading had to take place to create a big team of super friends.

"But destroying Closed Spaces from within wasn't the only goal we wanted to accomplish. Another important objective was gathering information about everything related to our condition. Beside Suzumiya-san herself, that also included our own abilities as well. That's where Hanigaru was most helpful. His talent to perform a quick analysis of any situation allowed us to understand our powers without wandering in the dark. If it wasn't for him, we'd probably lose our sanity or simply give up on trying to figure out what exactly was going on. He always was quick to turn a vague surmise into a solid theory and begin to test it. Thanks to Hanigaru, whenever we received new knowledge about Closed Spaces, like we did during our first time, we were able to operate on it almost instantly. He was the brain of the Organization, our expert on the supernatural."

"But why does he have powers that other espers don't?" I inquired. "That probing ability of his and controlling Celestials… Why was it so?"

Koizumi shrugged his shoulders, showing with his look that he wished he knew the answer.

"But it's not like the rest of us all have the same powers without any differences," he protested. "You must remember that I can perform attacks with fire. Others can generate electricity or move things with their mind. It's much like a lottery, in fact. We stick with whatever powers we have and we use only them. For some reason, Hanigaru is more capable than most. I assume he might have found out why our powers vary in the last three years, but even if that's the case, I don't believe he would just share that information with anyone."

"He left your Organization, didn't he?"

"Yes." Koizumi's face turned sulky. "It happened one year after the Organization was formed. During a fight with Celestials, my father failed to cover Hanigaru's back in time, and he took a strong hit, almost dying in the process."

I almost choked on my tea.

"Are you serious?" I wiped my wet face with my undercoat's sleeve.

"His barrier shattered, and he fell down from fifteen meters high. We didn't even notice how it happened. Only after the Closed Space dissolved, we saw him lying on the ground broken, bleeding and unconscious. It was our first real workplace accident. We took him to the hospital, and the doctors saved his life…" A shadow appeared on Koizumi's face as he remembered something very unpleasant. "He recovered a few months later, but he wasn't the same anymore. Something changed in him, but no one could tell what it was. Perhaps it was a grudge he held on my father for unwittingly causing this, but he never talked about it. And then came a day when he just resigned. He said that accident opened his eyes, and his place wasn't among us any longer. He left, and we never saw him again."

"Until yesterday," I added.

"Right. My father began looking for Hanigaru after my own accident in the pitch-black Closed Space had occurred. He thought Hanigaru could give us an advantage in our conflict with Dark Haruhi. But my father wanted a guarantee he wouldn't leave us again, and he tried to convince him to rejoin the Organization during your and Asahina-san's venture to Nagato-san's rescue. He had no success. Even after my father shared with him all information about Dark Haruhi, which is supposed to be classified, Hanigaru said he wasn't interested. As such, I'm afraid yesterday was the last time he helped us."

Wait. I don't quite understand it.

"Then why did he come to help at all?"

"Father asked him the same thing. Hanigaru told him that he wouldn't want any of us to get hurt like he once did. But since we don't know any better than to stay away from danger, then he won't stop us from harming ourselves anymore. He said that involving others into one's problems is selfish and irresponsible, and he wasn't glad one bit when my father realized he needed you and Asahina-san. That's the kind of person Hanigaru is. He respects our decision to protect the world from Closed Spaces, but he also made a decision of his own. It's only fair Hanigaru doesn't want my father to involve him in our activities if he doesn't involve us in his."

Koizumi finally finished his long story. But now he looked so sad and nostalgic, I couldn't help but wonder what was on his mind.

"I miss him," he confessed without me asking. "Hanigaru used to be like a big brother to me. He always was very protective of me because of my young age. He had intellect, he had guts, and on top of that, he had the most powers in the Organization. It wasn't strange that I looked up to him. But then he got injured and left after he made a recovery. He didn't even leave behind any means to contact him. Father had to spend a lot of effort to find him, and he left once again before I could talk to him."

I don't think I understand your pain, Koizumi. With all his bitterness and arrogance, Hanigaru didn't seem likable to me in the slightest. And his powers, while impressive indeed, aren't something I would like him for either. After all, I hang out with four supernatural beings, each with their own special powers. That's not the reason why I call them my friends. But you've known Hanigaru for a longer time than I. Maybe there is some positive quality in him that only you can see.

My peaceful contemplation was interrupted by a familiar voice singing something behind the clubroom's door.

"Gotta make you understand…"

The knob turned, and the door was opened by our Brigade leader, who was radiating enthusiasm and eagerness. There's no way it could be a bad sign.

"Never gonna give you up!" Passing by Nagato, Haruhi gently stroked her short hair and gave Koizumi one of her brightest smiles. "Sorry I kept you waiting, guys. I've been taking a promenade around school, looking for inspiration and new ideas. Because we are going to need a lot of them, and right now! What do you say, Mikuru? Do you feel like giving birth to something creative?"

"Umm… I don't know… Kya!" Merrily giggling, Haruhi ran up to her and hugged her waist with both arms. Purring like a cat, she caressed Asahina-san's head, disregarding our club's maid's scared face and trembling lips. Hey, I know we've exchanged our greetings this morning, but would you kindly pay me more attention than to an average piece of furniture?

"Listen to me, Brigade!" Letting go of Asahina-san, Haruhi took a marker and stood in front of the whiteboard, which still had our names and cosplay roles on it (except Asahina-san's). "Attending a cosplay contest in a costume isn't even half of the job any person with dignity is supposed to do. While making a great first impression is important, it is never enough. We need to develop a strategy to win the contest! For that to happen, we must create a skit!"

"A skit?"

"Yes, Kyon, a skit!" Holding the marker like a knife, she pointed it at me, unwittingly making me shiver. "How are you going to win a cosplay contest without showing an excellent skit? They won't give you any prizes just because you show up in a fancy suit! It isn't called a contest for nothing! You aren't going to tell me you've never actually been to a cosplay contest before, are you?"

What does your female intuition tell you, oh goddess?

"Your silence speaks for itself," she snorted. "Geez, you are such a disappointment, Kyon. It's like you don't have a life at all. I can only hope your brain isn't as nonexistent and it can come up with some good ideas for your performance. Now…"

Squeaking with the marker, Haruhi wrote on the board the following words: "_WHEN FIVE BADASSES MEET._" That sets a basis for our skit, I assume?

"Mikuru," she addressed Asahina-san. "From this moment on, keeping your role secret can complicate things. Nobody is going to see your costume before the appointed day, as I promised, but should I keep quiet about your role as well? No, wait," Haruhi stamped her foot a few times. "I have an idea. What if I say you are going to cosplay as a ninja? How about that?"

"A ninja?" That suggestion seemed to amuse Asahina-san, judging by the chuckle she released. "I like it, Suzumiya-san. I don't mind."

"Okay! So, this is what we have so far. Commander Shepard, Rei Ayanami, Ichigo Kurosaki, Obi-Wan Kenobi and a nameless ninja run into each other. What does that spell for them? What is going to happen when they meet? Hmm?" Haruhi glanced over us, inquisitively searching for signs of mental work in our heads. "Come on, guys! There's a reason I let you choose the roles you liked. That way, you would know how to act like your character would! So tell me, how are those characters going to interact with each other?"

Call me lazy, but I didn't have a single idea how they would interact. Among the five, only Shepard and Ichigo had somewhat similar personalities, while Rei Ayanami was as quiet as Nagato, and Obi-Wan is supposed to be calm and reserved because he is a Jedi. And Asahina-san's ninja's personality is a complete unknown. So how would I know what would happen if they suddenly met?

"I have an idea," said Koizumi. Thank goodness. If our smooth talker has something to say, then the less imaginative members of the Brigade are going to be spared from execution. "Because a skit has a time limit, our performance has to be short, but memorable. I suggest our characters participate in a humorous sketch. While they have vastly different personalities, most of them share a similar mission, which is to save the world, be it planet Earth or an entire galaxy. But I'm afraid I don't know if Asahina-san's role fits this criterion."

"It does," nodded Haruhi, carefully listening to what Koizumi was saying. "Mikuru's character pursues a noble goal to stop a sinister conspiracy from causing a war between two powerful nations. Many innocent lives are at stake. Therefore, Mikuru has chosen a heroic role just like the rest of us did."

"Then how about this?" Koizumi leaned forward and crossed his fingers. "Our five characters could engage into an argument about whose mission is more important and whose world should be saved first. If we give it a try, we might add some nice humor to this scenario."

Why don't I ever have ideas like that? You make me jealous, Koizumi. I wish I was as creative as you. But it seems I serve a different purpose in this story.

"And that's why, Koizumi, you are the Vice Leader of the SOS Brigade!" Haruhi winked at Koizumi and pointed a finger at him. "I like the way you think. And I believe I can add more to it. The argument between the heroes is going to take form… of a song! That's it!" Snapping her fingers and grinning happily, she added the words "_THEY SING_" on the board. "We are going to write a song for our skit! I think lyrics should be enough. As for music, we can just choose whatever fits them most."

Haruhi inhaled deeply, getting a lungful of air and closing her eyes.

"Can you smell it?" It wasn't me, I swear. "This is the smell of victory! We will work as a team, and together, we will win that contest! Who's with me?"

I raised my hand. Asahina-san, Koizumi and Nagato followed. This was enough to induce the feeling of invincibility in Haruhi. She let out a chuckle, flapped her arms like a bird and looked at her Brigade with hope and determination. I kept my hand raised after the rest of us put theirs down.

"What is it, Kyon?"

"Haruhi." I turned around and faced her. "I hate to spoil your fun, but I need to go now. In case you have forgotten, you and I have another important project to do. I'm going to the city library. And I strongly suggest you spend some time on that project, too."

"Don't tell me what to do," she retorted and pulled a face. "Unlike you, I always do my homework in time. But if you want to go and study, then do it. I'll stay and begin writing our song, and next time I want you to contribute to it as well, because I'm not screwing up in front of the audience! Especially since Shiraki is going to be there."

Did I hear her right?

"Shiraki? What does he have to do with your song?"

"I invited him to the contest, that's what!" Haruhi patted her hair. "After all, he needs to see the performance of the Brigade he supervises. Not to mention seeing Mikuru's costume he's paying for."

Sure. Performance and costume. Who are you kidding, Suzumiya? You just want to show off before your crush's eyes. You know, why does that even bother me?

"See you tomorrow." I grabbed my backpack. "Let's go, Nagato."

"Wait, what?" Haruhi angrily frowned. "Why are you taking Yuki with you?"

"I'm not taking anyone with me," I glared at her. "We're just going to the library together. Both of us have got stuff to read there."

"Is that true, Yuki?" Nagato nodded. "Well, okay then. Yuki, please make sure he doesn't go back on his word and actually studies."

"Understood," said the alien girl.

* * *

It felt really nice to spend some time with Nagato for a change. Having to tear between Asakura and Koizumi, I've grown sick of both of them. The former insisted on training me in kendo every day, the latter just didn't know the meaning of the words "shut up." I couldn't say the same thing about Haruhi and Asahina-san. Haruhi, while annoying as always, hasn't been bothering me as much as those two, and Asahina-san was a different matter altogether. I would jump at every opportunity to take her somewhere or follow her to any place of her choice, and that would make me the happiest guy in the world. But Nagato… She was something else.

I can't even begin to describe how much I'm enjoying her calm and quiet demeanor right now. If you want to rest after a wearying stroll with your friends but hate relaxing alone, a bookworm friend is your best option. I knew Nagato would never nitpick me about unimportant things, shamelessly demand my attention or otherwise overtax my patience. My loyal and most reliable friend, an immovable rock in the raging storm… My Nagato.

And she looked damn cute without those glasses, too.

There was no need for words as we were making our way to the city library. Almost a year and a half ago, I got a library card for her there. That day in May, we went on our first trip all together to search for mysteries that would interest Haruhi. While we found nothing (although I discovered one of my new friends was a time traveler), getting a card for Nagato was something that became important in the future. When she rewrote the world, the new normal Nagato admitted she obtained a library card with my help, as well. Thinking back, everything might have played out very differently if it wasn't for that small act of kindness. Returning the world to its previous state could be impossible if I had never met Nagato in that alternate reality's past.

We found ourselves a table close to the shelf with the books I needed for my project. Nagato took a seat and immediately began reading something about war strategy. I sat in front of her and opened an encyclopedia on biology. Flipping through pages and looking for the part I had to copy, I didn't notice at first that Nagato was staring at me.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth.

"I know you have peeked at my underwear when you were battling a hostile creature in the Closed Space yesterday."

I had to pinch myself to make sure I didn't mishear her. What did she just say?

"Nagato…?"

Her eyelids covered the top half of her eyes.

"Pervert."

All I could do was sit with a dazed look and feel the blood fill my face, giving it a red color which can only be found on Santa Claus' coat. But it was an accident, Nagato! I didn't do it on purpose. You'd think peeking under a girl's skirt would be the last thing I wanted to do when there's a monster trying to kill me, and I'm about to fall to my death!

I wanted to say all that in my defense, but I could only open my mouth and wheeze something inarticulate.

"That was a joke," said Nagato.

I blinked.

"W-What?"

"I have been studying the concept of humor," calmly replied Nagato. "Judging by the information I have gathered, it appears that humans find embarrassing and inappropriate situations funny."

Wait, wait, wait. What was that? Did Nagato just make a joke?

"Was I successful?"

"Errr…" Then the funny side of what just happened hit me. I sniggered in my hand, and then I had to keep covering my mouth to muffle the loud sound of my hysterical laughter. I shouldn't make noise in a library, after all.

"That was a good one, Nagato," I said to her a few minutes later when I was able to restrain myself. I was still shaking violently, barely able to contain my laugh. "You got me. I'm sorry. But I didn't mean to… you know. I was just trying to climb back on the top of that tower. It wasn't my intent to look where I wasn't supposed to."

"I understand," said Nagato. "You were in the middle of a life and death situation. That was the reason why I studied the concept of humor. I wanted to relieve the stress you have been under."

I smiled, looking at her with all fondness I had in my heart.

"Thank you, Nagato."

Well, who would've expected that. Our silent character is learning how to crack jokes. I should mark this day with a red marker in my calendar and celebrate it every year. God, she will never cease to amaze me. I was right to bring her here with me.

"Hey, Nagato." I realized I wanted to ask her something. "Has your boss had any luck in tracking Dark Haruhi down?"

She shook her head.

"Well, she has caused plenty of trouble already," I continued to make my point. "First, she brought Asakura back… Now, she had trapped you in a Closed Space. What are your superiors going to do about it?"

"The Data Integration Thought Entity has decided to apprehend the culprit known as Dark Haruhi through her subordinate, Ryoko Asakura," answered Nagato. "She is the only link to Dark Haruhi we currently have. If Ryoko Asakura is put into a threatening situation, there is a possibility the culprit will react in some way."

"Wait, you are going to put Asakura into what?"

"A threatening situation."

I thought about it for a moment. Nagato's boss is going to provoke Dark Haruhi by putting Asakura in danger. What about my training? What if they end up destroying Asakura, and there will be no one to teach me how to use a sword? Is it alright? Should I support Nagato, or try and talk her out of it? The former felt more appealing to me. I had no reason to wish Asakura any good. In fact, I would be glad to get rid of her once again.

"Excuse me?" somebody's voice said above my ear. "Is this seat taken?"

The voice was familiar. My heart pounded in my chest, recognizing that beautiful sound. I turned my head and saw a woman in her twenties with elegant reddish brown hair and full lips, curved in a smile. She was dressed in a white blouse and a black mini-skirt, and she had a bracelet on her left wrist. Overwhelmed with joy, I stood up and smiled back.

"Please, take my seat. It's good to see you again, Asahina-san."


	11. Chapter 10: Darker than Dark

_**Chapter 10. Darker than Dark**_

I'm not sure why it wasn't surprising to see the adult Asahina-san again. I could count all our meetings with the fingers of one hand, though I'm going to have to use the other hand if I want to include this new encounter. Whenever she showed up, it usually meant providing guidance and warning about danger. Maybe that's why her appearance fits our current situation. It's quite welcome, I might even say. Guidance and warning are things I could definitely use if it helps us clear the mess we've stepped into.

Asahina-san (big) made herself comfortable in the hard library chair I offered her. Once she sat down, I noticed she had a flower with long white petals in her hair. Its scent was so gentle and sweet, as if it had only just been picked up from its place in a sunny glade… Or maybe a garden with a caretaker who is an ambassador of nature and knows how to handle his job.

"That's a nice flower you're wearing, Asahina-san," I complimented her decoration.

"Thank you," she smiled to me. "It's from a secret admirer. He insisted that I put it in my hair before I go and wait for the two of you here. And I couldn't refuse."

"Is that so?" I sat back in my chair. "You sound like this admirer of yours is someone from your future. Maybe even a member of the same faction you belong to."

"You are correct, Kyon," Asahina-san nodded. "I'm on an important mission in this time plane. This person is the man I am working with. He is one of our best operatives."

"Wait, didn't you just say he was a _secret_ admirer? How can he be secret if you know who he is?"

Asahina-san pressed a finger against her lips and winked at me.

"He is a secret to everyone else but me, Kyon. He is a master at being subtle and obscure, yet at the same time he can be very open about his intentions when he has to. That's why I'm most likely the only one to whom he revealed himself."

I felt a sick sting of jealousy inside my heart. She makes clear she's not indifferent to that man. But… It couldn't be helped, I suppose. Asahina-san (little) once mentioned she can't engage into a relationship with anyone who wasn't from her future. It's only inevitable someone else gets to be the lucky one.

"Although, I would rather not talk about him right now," Asahina-san knocked herself on the head. "Like I said, I've been waiting for you to come. It's very fortunate that you decided to take Nagato-san along with you. I expected nothing less from you, Kyon."

There was a light in Asahina-san's eyes I've never seen before. Daichi Koizumi was looking at me like that after I emerged from the Closed Space last night… No, not exactly like that. It's something different from admiration and disbelief from what I had done. I think I know what it is, but why I deserved this look eluded me. For whatever reason, Asahina-san was glowing with pride.

"You have changed a lot since our last meeting," she said, observing the reaction on my face. "And you have come far from that puzzled boy who couldn't believe what he saw when he first met me in the clubroom. You have finally begun developing the best traits of your character. The fact that Nagato-san is here with you proves it. You've always cared about your friends more than anyone, but now you are openly showing it. Truly, you are the heart of our merry band of misfits."

"Oh." That was all I found myself able to answer with. I didn't know how to respond to something like what Asahina-san just said. For the second time in the last few minutes, I was blushing red.

"This will become very important in the future, and sooner than you think. If you want to express your thought about people that are close to you, now is the best time. Kyon…" She closed her eyes, and the smile faded away from her face. In an instant, it was replaced by sadness… and unrest.

"Asahina-san? What's wrong?"

She didn't reply at once. I had to wait for a few moments before her eyes opened, filled with emotions which matched her expression.

"I can't afford to fail my mission. Everything depends on its success. If only you knew the true nature of what has been going on in this time plane... I have returned here, and now I'm starting to see the big picture. When I was in my younger self's place, living with fear of what Dark Haruhi might do next was so much better than what I'm dealing with now."

Why is she so sad all of a sudden? You know things aren't going well when the more mature and easy-going version of Asahina-san looks so depressed. I've seen her scared, determined, even angry, but never like this. If this mission of hers inspires even more despair than Dark Haruhi's morbid way to entertain herself, I'd hate to get as much as a taste of it.

"Your mission… Can you talk about it? Or is it classified information?"

"Of course I can." She smiled once again, but she appeared very, very exhausted. "That's the reason why I wanted to find you. This is something you will want to hear – an important warning. Dark Haruhi isn't the only one you should worry about."

I interrupted her:

"Hold it for a moment, would you? You do know the younger you has lost her TPDD, right? She can't contact her boss, and in fact, she is powerless now. Aren't you supposed to do something about it?"

"It's not that simple." She shook her head in disagreement. "I know about her problems better than anyone. But you should be able to understand why I can't just show up in front of her and give her a new TPDD. My identity must be kept secret from her until the time is right. And besides, I couldn't help her even if I wanted. I have my orders, and one of them is to retrieve her TPDD from Dark Haruhi. Then and only then she can have it back."

"And assuming that you manage to take it back from Dark Haruhi, how is the young you going to receive it if you can't return it to her? Or will then be the proper time for you to reveal herself before her?"

"My partner will handle it. He is the one taking care of Dark Haruhi, and he will give my younger self her TPDD once he reclaims it. However, my part of the job is different."

That convinced me a little bit. So the adult Asahina-san is working in pair with someone from her time traveling organization, and they've been sent here on a task which includes finding Dark Haruhi… Good grief, that other incarnation of our Brigade leader must be a real menace if even the folks from the future are after her. And who's Asahina-san's partner might be? Probably someone I don't even know. I wonder if he is more than just a "secret" admirer to her…

"Kyon." The future version of my dear moe character was staring in my soul with sincerity in her sight. "You know I have fond memories about being a member of Suzumiya-san's Brigade, despite her somewhat inappropriate treatment, and I've always been happy about coming back to this time plane. And I am glad to see you and Nagato-san, because it's the most precious part of my visits here. But now… I envy myself in my past for having to play such a minor role. Seeing the other side of the events behind Dark Haruhi's appearance helped me realize how fragile everything is. This very time plane… It's unstable."

Nagato put her book away and was listening carefully to Asahina-san. Seems like that final phrase alerted her somehow.

"Unstable?" I decided to try and clarify this for Nagato. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well…" A quick thought glimpsed in Asahina-san's eyes. "Do you remember our conversation when I revealed to you who I was? That day, I told you that future can't be changed because there is no continuity between the time planes, and meddling with one won't affect others in any way. That's how it's always meant to be. But then, there was Fujiwara who found a way around that rule."

"Haruhi's power…" These two words came out from my mouth as a whisper. "He planned to give it to Sasaki and change the future with her help. And now we have Dark Haruhi who already has this power. Does that mean…?"

"You are not far away from the truth," nodded Asahina-san. "Suzumiya-san's power is indeed the only thing capable of breaking the stability of time planes. But if Dark Haruhi truly was behind the approaching crisis, she would have already used her power to cause it. That's why my mission is so complicated. Dark Haruhi is but a single piece of the puzzle, and there are still many more of them to be uncovered."

Hang on… What exactly did you just say? I'm not sure I follow – no, I'm quite positive that I don't. So Dark Haruhi isn't the big bad?

"Here's what is happening," said Asahina-san. "A critical point for this time plane is coming. In its center is a force that may change this world irrevocably, and it has the potential to cause a number of very different futures which cannot coexist together." Asahina-san took a deep breath. "Soon, a fateful event will take place. When it does, it will eliminate all possible futures save one, setting a single course for this world's destiny. For me, it means… If I don't succeed, a different future is going to replace the one I came from. It will be the end of my world. Everyone I know, everything we've worked hard to create will vanish into nothingness. And it will probably reach me even in this time plane, erasing me as well."

I didn't know how to feel about it. Imagine that you have a foreign friend from a different country, and one day he brings you news about his homeland suffering destruction – for example, it's engulfed in the flames of war and being obliterated little by little, or maybe all at once. How would you answer to that? You'd certainly say you were sorry to hear about his loss, but you'd never be able to sympathize with him, unless you have experienced something of that level. Asahina-san (big) was this sort of friend to me now. She was worried about her future, but… it's _the future _she was talking about. It's as distant from one's ordinary life as humanly possible. As much as I realized this was nothing to joke about, I couldn't share Asahina-san's worries.

"Who?" I asked her. "Who is going to destroy your future? Is it Dark Haruhi? Or someone else?"

She raised her head, heroically holding her composure.

"While Dark Haruhi definitely has an important part in this chain of events, there is someone else to suspect. This game of destiny has room for another player. They are the ones I am investigating."

I fidgeted in my chair, unable to deal with my impatience. This sounds incredibly important to wait for it so idly.

"Who are they?"

"They call themselves the Warlocks."

The Warlocks? People who use black magic?

"They are a special type of people who possess extraordinary powers," said Asahina-san. "There is very little information about them, even in my future nothing more than a mention of their faction's name can be found. All that's known about them is that they are different from me, Nagato-san and Koizumi-kun. Whatever their powers are, they aren't the same as those of the three of us. And before you ask," she tapped her finger on the table. "They are certainly not like Suzumiya-san or Dark Haruhi. A whole faction of people with their ability is an impossible scenario. In our world, at least."

"And they are the source of your stress?" I asked.

"Yes." A wrinkle appeared in the corner of her eye. "Based on the intel provided by my superiors, they are involved in destabilizing this time plane. However, there's not enough information. I must look into this matter and learn as much about them as I can. Their identities, their powers, their motives… They have already made a move, giving me a small clue. You've probably heard that Kyoko Tachibana has gone missing, if I'm not mistaken. Koizumi-kun had pointed it out a couple of days earlier, right?"

I tensed up.

"Shiraki suggested her family had moved away. And we saw Tachibana last Saturday. I mean, Shiraki and Koizumi did. What does she have to do with your mission?"

"They haven't moved away," spoke Asahina-san with dead seriousness in her voice. "Her whole family has been kidnapped."

I could hear and count every beat of my heart's pace in the ensued silence.

"Tell me you are joking."

"I wish it weren't true," sighed Asahina-san. "Roughly two weeks ago, the Warlocks broke into the Tachibana residence and abducted Kyoko along with her mother and father."

"Two weeks ago?" Now this just can't be right. "Asahina-san, I've just told you we saw her last Saturday. What you are saying has to be wrong."

"Let me continue on this part," she lifted a palm of her hand. "Two weeks ago, the Warlocks had kidnapped Kyoko's whole family for purposes unknown. I know it was their doing because of the traces they left in their house – don't ask me what they are, it's classified – and I had been looking for them after this incident occurred. And after a few days of thorough searching, I did it. I found their base of operations and managed to infiltrate it, freeing Tachibanas from where they were held captive. But the Warlocks responded to my intrusion in the most unexpected way. They simply… evacuated from that base, every single one of them. And they didn't leave behind any piece of evidence. Items, documents, computers – they took everything with them. In just a few minutes, there wasn't anyone in that place except for me and the Tachibana family."

"You mean those Warlocks didn't fight back?"

"Exactly, Kyon."

They sound like a ridiculous bunch of wimps. Did Asahina-san infiltrate their base on her own? Even if she brought help with her, why couldn't those guys use their powers to stop her? Maybe they can only work in a Closed Space, like esper powers? And most importantly – if they run away from a fight so easily, what makes Asahina-san worry about them so much?

"When Koizumi-kun and Shiraki saw Kyoko a couple of days ago, it was during her break from captivity," Asahina-san carried on with her story. "Tachibanas used to be members of an esper faction, rival to the Organization, as you know. Even though they have resigned, they still have connections and are on good terms with their former associates. They had no problem in finding a safe place to hide."

"Wait. Are you saying Kyoko's parents are espers as well?"

"Are you surprised?" Asahina-san's smile was barely noticeable. "Yes, Koizumi-kun isn't the only one whose powers run in the family. Somehow, this is also true regarding Tachibanas. But I digress. After helping them escape, I tried to learn from Tachibanas whatever I could about the people who had kidnapped them. They could tell me only a little, but even that small piece of information is extremely valuable."

Asahina-san cleared her throat.

"There were two of them. The Warlocks who came after Tachibanas were twins, a boy and a girl about your age, Kyon. They didn't catch the names of their kidnappers, but those two displayed some of their powers. One ability they had was to paralyze their victims, restraining their movements and rendering them speechless." She frowned, recalling something from her memory. "Tachibanas described it as a horrific experience. Being unable to move, but perfectly aware, trying to resist and protect their loved ones, but to no avail... Using that power, the twins easily abducted them, because their victims couldn't make a single sound. And they also obscured Kyoko and her parents' eyes with blindfolds and never removed them, not even when they brought their kidnappees to their base. So I'm afraid Tachibanas know even less than I do."

The details were scarce, but they were enough to form a pretty grim picture. There is a faction of people who can paralyze you with their powers – and God knows what other abilities they may have – and they are also criminals who choose to kidnap espers, amongst all the people in Japan. And, according to Asahina-san, they are somehow able to endanger her future… I don't understand this part, but neither does she, it seems.

"But why did those Warlocks come after the Tachibanas in the first place?" I wondered.

"That isn't known even to them," replied Asahina-san with a concerned look on her face. "I asked them about it, but all they could tell me was that they were being held in a room, tied up on separate tables, having their eyes always covered with bandages. Every day, someone they couldn't see would come and silently do… something to them. Kyoko figured out what it was – an effect of a supernatural power. That person would come to visit them without speaking a word and use this power on them for hours. But what exactly it did to them, Kyoko couldn't understand."

What a creepy fate to suffer. And I thought Closed Spaces with monsters were bad enough. Hell, it would probably be better for Tachibanas to have been abducted by ordinary criminals who'd beat them up and demand a ransom for them from their relatives. Instead, they got kidnappers with powers whose weapon of choice was terrifying their victims with the unknown. Who was that Warlock and what was he doing to them? There was plenty of room for imagination, and it would give a thousand ideas, each one more frightening than another.

"It wasn't long before the twins came back for their escaped prey. They found where Kyoko was hiding with her family and abducted them once again."

"What?" I was shocked to hear that. It happened to them _twice_? And it was the same two culprits? "But…"

"I know," said Asahina-san in a mortified voice. "Not only did this nightmare come back after them, but it's also a setback in my mission. The only connection to the Warlocks I had was snatched from under my nose, and I'm the only one to blame. I can only suggest they weren't done with Tachibanas when I came to their rescue. But I was arrogant enough to think I did all I could to keep them safe, and now…" She turned to me with the most sorrowful expression on her face I could imagine. "And now I'm here to ask you for your help, Kyon."

Sitting in my chair with my mouth agasp like a moron, I slowly pointed my finger at myself.

"Who, me?"

Asahina-san nodded.

"After they were kidnapped for the second time, I received new information. Kyoko and her family can be saved from the Warlocks. Once I find out where they are being kept this time, I can put an end to this and stop the Warlocks from coming back for them ever again. I am sure about this because it's a predetermined event. But the requirement is that you take part in it, too. You are the only one who can save Kyoko Tachibana. Kyon…"

Sad and desperate – that's all she was that moment and what I could read from looking at her. I knew where it was coming. She was one step away from begging for my help.

"Will you…?"

I glared at her silently. So that's the reason why she came all the way here to chat with me? To give me another quest? Last time she did it, I ended up doing a pattern of seemingly meaningless tasks without anyone telling me what was going on until I was done, and Asahina-san (little) was involved in it as well, having to serve as a decoy for a different group of kidnappers. I was mad at Asahina-san (big) for being used so mercilessly. However… Now it was different. She came to me in person and told me everything she knew about her situation. I won't deny it sounds really nasty and dangerous, and a huge lot of things are at stake. But if she is being sincere with me this time…

"Asahina-san," I locked gazes with her, trying to sound confident. "I need to know one thing. Are you hiding anything from me? If you want me to help you… Can I trust you?"

"Kyon." Her hand reached out and touched mine, giving me goosebumps – the nice kind. "I am asking for too much to let myself be untruthful with you. If you decide to become involved, this will be a great risk for you. I don't wish to see you harmed ever again. That's why I have told you everything that is not classified." She finally smiled again, and a flicker of faith danced in her eyes. "And I will do everything in my power to help you survive."

Survive? Does this mean my life will be threatened if I agree to lend Asahina-san a hand? Is there a possibility I may die saving her future? Well… If that's how risky it is, then…

"Whatever threat those Warlocks pose, Dark Haruhi has already proven herself to be an unpleasant addition to my quiet life." Not feeling a slightest shred of fear in my soul, I spoke my decision: "You've made your point. If it's so important to you, then you can count on me."

"Thank you, Kyon!" Asahina-san brightened up as this new hope I gave her washed her grief away. "Thank you. As soon as an opportunity to take action appears, I will let you know. I will make all necessary preparations, and when the day comes, we will save Kyoko Tachibana and her family. Together."

Now this is the adult Asahina-san I remember. Smiling and optimistic. Let's hope I won't have to regret it.

"A few more things to discuss, and I shall be on my way," she said. "Abducting Tachibanas isn't the only thing the Warlocks have done. Today, this exact day, they've committed another crime."

Those guys really hate living without ruining someone's day, don't they?

"And what was it?"

"A break-in. They've targeted Tsuruya's house."

I jumped up from my chair and sprang to my feet, barely avoiding knocking over the table.

"What? Tsuruya's house? Are you serious?"

"Don't worry," Asahina-san took my sleeve, silently asking me to calm down. "It has happened a few hours earlier, before Tsuruya brought the younger me to her place for training. It's safe there now, although it's quite a mess. But you know Tsuruya," she chuckled. "You could burn her house down, and it would only make her really angry. Fear is but an empty word for her. She won't let this incident get in the way of what you've asked of her."

I sighed and fell into the chair, getting a hold of myself.

"I don't know if the twins were behind this break-in as well, but the burglars were definitely Warlocks," continued Asahina-san. "They stole things of great value, artifacts from the past. Hopefully, learning the history of those objects from Tsuruya will help me get closer to understanding the goals of the Warlocks."

"Wait. Are you going to show yourself to Tsuruya? Or are you implying she already knows about you?" I was stunned by one possible meaning behind Asahina-san's words. "This version of you?"

"She does," confirmed my guess Asahina-san. "She has known about me for a long time now. There's nothing to worry about. Tsuruya is a trustworthy friend."

Surprise, surprise. Although… Koizumi did mention one day that Tsuruya knows the real deal behind the SOS Brigade. Even Tsuruya herself told me she prefers to keep distance and watch the show when I asked her about how much she actually knew. But the grown-up Asahina-san… Seems like she's not such a big secret after all.

"But this is going to lead to serious trouble if left unattended. Tsuruya knows better than to talk about this incident, but rumors are going to spread, and there's nothing she can do about it. It's only a matter of time before Suzumiya-san finds out. And she will want to help her friend and start an investigation."

Asahina-san leaned closer to me and lowered her voice.

"You will have to stop her, Kyon," she said. "Don't let Suzumiya-san investigate this matter. She must not get herself involved into this mess. No matter what she says, whatever she will do…" She emphasized her next words. "Do not let her set even one foot in Tsuruya's mansion. Whatever – the – cost."

"Why not?" I scratched my forehead, processing what I've just been told. "Can she actually get on the Warlocks' trail if she does?"

"Not only that," replied Asahina-san. "Tsuruya has dossiers on every object that has been stolen from her. If Suzumiya-san gets her hands even on one of them… Well… Let's just say those dossiers are not for her eyes. But you, Kyon… You, however, will have to see them. You, Nagato-san, Koizumi-kun and my younger self. Once you persuade Suzumiya-san to abandon this, ask Tsuruya to share that information with you. It will help you in the nearest future."

"I understand." Although I didn't have a clue how I was going to prevent Haruhi from sticking her nose into Tsuruya's business, I knew I couldn't let myself fail this task. I couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if she ever faced a Warlock, and I didn't want to find out. "But how is it going to help us?"

"That's classified for now." Asahina-san gave me an apologetic look. "But… I know what you will find there still won't give you the full picture. It's very important that you discover it as soon as possible. And it infuriates me that I can't tell you everything here and now."

She straightened in her seat and closed her eyes. She inhaled sharply and clenched her fists, and this view made me feel nervous.

"Uh… Asahina-san?"

"Kyon…" She put her hand on her stomach and shuddered. "The reason you have become a part of these events… The reason why Dark Haruhi is here… It is because… _Classified information.._."

What in the world is happening now? Asahina-san was so pale, she looked like she was fighting nausea. She gulped loudly, took a deep breath and exclaimed:

"The Link!"

And then she burst into a severe coughing fit, her face twisted in pain. I felt my hair move on my head like a tangled ball of worms, and my mouth turned dry because of what I've just seen. I thought she was going to faint and fall from her chair, so I prepared myself to go and catch her.

"Sorry." Her voice was weak and hardly recognizable. "I've pushed my restrictions to the limit. I can't speak of it anymore. But I had to try. I had to give you a hint. Please… Don't ask me what it means. You will have to learn more about it on your own."

"Damn it, Asahina-san!" I rubbed my eyebrows, trying to banish the unnerving sight from my mind. "Don't scare me like that. I thought you were having a seizure."

"So I was, Kyon. I was."

Incredible. So that's what happens when a time traveler attempts to reveal even a fragment of classified information, to fight the intense brainwashing they received before using a TPDD. No, I didn't want to witness this ever again. I never thought it was possible at all. What do you know, today is the day of discoveries.

I was relieved to see Asahina-san could breathe freely once more.

"Nagato-san," she turned away from me and faced the alien girl. Nagato was unflappably listening to our conversation all this time. "As I've said before, I was waiting both for Kyon and you. I have to tell you something, too."

Nagato was staring at Asahina-san calmly.

"I am listening."

"I've overheard what you said about your plan to apprehend Dark Haruhi." Asahina-san's face regained its healthy color. "Your superiors intend to get to her through Asakura. You mustn't. Please, tell them to find another way. If I know Asakura, she will try to stop you from capturing her, and that can only end in her ultimate destruction. You mustn't let this happen. Her training with Kyon is too important. Nothing must get in its way."

I wanted to interrupt them, but I thought further explanation would probably belong to the realm of classified information, blast it. Not to mention it would be simply rude. So I decided to let Asahina-san speak what she believes needs to be spoken. She has already said more than she could.

"This will be taken into consideration," said Nagato. "However, it may not be enough to sway the consensus in favor of finding a different approach towards apprehending Dark Haruhi."

"I know," Asahina-san moved her head, and the mass of her hair shook like a sea wave. "But it's crucial for saving my future. Kyon's training must continue no matter what. I ask you – no, I beg you, Nagato-san… Don't let any harm come upon Asakura."

Nagato didn't respond. I think it means she can promise nothing. Asahina-san stood up and laid her sight on me.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes." She put on the same smile she had when she came here. "Thank you for your kindness, Kyon. You don't even realize how much weight your help is going to carry. Because of you, when this time plane reaches its diverging point, my home will have a chance to see another day. Until then… Train well. It will come in handy soon enough. Bye-bye!"

And she disappeared behind the closest book shelf. I sighed and turned to see all the work I barely touched. The talk with the adult Asahina-san had one huge downside: I wasn't in the mood for studying anymore. Good grief. I suppose all of it will have to wait.

I took out my cell phone and dialed Asakura's number. I hope she won't mind if we begin our training earlier today.


	12. Chapter 11: Nobody's Ally

_**Chapter 11. Nobody's Ally**_

"Say, Kyon," mumbled Taniguchi with his mouth stuffed with food. "You've gotta tell me your secret. I want to know how you did it."

It was Tuesday. Just another day at school, and if you want me to be precise, it was the regular time during the long break for students to sit in the cafeteria and have lunch. I put my meal down for a moment, swallowing a sushi roll. Unlike Taniguchi, I don't have a habit of speaking with my mouth full.

"What are you talking about?"

Taniguchi pointed a chopstick at me, and a stray thought about him throwing it at me like a dart crossed my mind. A tired brain can come up with the silliest things, I tell you.

"Don't make this innocent face, Kyon, you know I can see through it!" His eyes narrowed in thin slits. "I want to know how in the world you pulled it off! You began seeing Asakura as soon as she returned to our school, give or take a day. Asakura! The hottest girl in our class, and you are dating her! How?"

"You're kidding me." On second thought, he didn't look like he was. "Were you hit hard on the head or something? Me and Asakura? Why do you think we are an item, anyway?"

Taniguchi let out a sinister small laugh.

"Oh, so you're denying you have been coming to her apartment every day since Friday? And don't tell me you've been visiting Yuki Nagato instead, because I've seen you going there with Asakura twice: on Friday and yesterday, and furthermore, when you and Nagato left the city library and were halfway to her place, you ran into Asakura and stopped to chat with her, asking Nagato to go home without you! Well, how about that?"

A sharp desire to punch him in the face squirmed in my guts.

"How do you know all that? Are you spying on me or something?"

"So I'm right, huh?" Taniguchi victoriously threw up his hands. "See what I told you, Kunikida? Kyon's hiding something from us!"

Kunikida, who was sitting next to me, closed eyes and shook his head with a gracious smile.

"I can't imagine Kyon and Asakura as a couple. She's gorgeous, and he's not the worst tool in the shed, that's for sure, but she's not his type. You know that. Nagato, on the other side, is a more likely option…"

"Guys, quit it!" I gave an annoyed moan. "You are both wrong. I'm not dating either of them. It's just… I have some important business with Asakura, that's all. It's important enough that I have to stop by her place every day. We're not doing… anything! Okay? No making out, no nothing, just… our… stuff."

Taniguchi and Kunikida exchanged looks and turned to me, glaring at me with suspicion. Perhaps I should've chosen my words more carefully…

"And just what that stuff might be, pal?" asked Taniguchi with an unctuous voice. Kunikida said nothing, but his curious look was just as irritating. Both were doing a great job playing on my nerves. "What could possibly demand that the two of you spend time together so often?"

They aren't going to just leave me alone, are they? I suppose there's no harm in telling them. Omitting the top-secret details, of course.

"I've found myself a new hobby, and Asakura is happy to help me with it." I poured some cherry compote in my cup. It was made by my mother, in case you're wondering. "She gives me kendo lessons, and I train with her every day. That's all there is to it. So stop fantasizing already."

Taniguchi made a puffy face and loudly blew the air out of his cheeks. On the scale of stupid faces from 1 to 10, his was a solid 11.

"Did you hear that, Kunikida?" His chopstick was still pointing at me. "He's messing with us. Kendo, eh. As if we'd ever buy that lie. Kyon…"

"You'd be a fool not to buy that," I cut his speech short. "Kunikida, please say that you believe me. Come on, do you think I don't have what it takes to admit I've got myself a girlfriend? Why would I lie about something like that?"

He shrugged, and before he could open his mouth, somebody else's voice spoke to me.

"Hey, Kyon!" I turned my neck, and my already hellacious mood dropped in quality even more, shattering and breaking into a thousand small pieces. It was none other than Asakura, dressed in her impeccably well-groomed school uniform. Talk of the devil, and her horns will appear. Bathing me with her shining gaze and smiling like a bride on her wedding, she put a small box on the table near my cup of compote.

"I've spent last night baking them for you." Her blue eyes and her soft streaming hair were too close to me, closer than Koizumi ever allows himself to approach me. The apricot scent of her perfume didn't help in making the moment less awkward. "Open it, please."

I was stunned momentarily. I watched my hands touch the box and remove the top, as if they didn't belong to my body. Inside the box were… cookies. Round-shaped, smiley-faced cookies, smelling fresh and delicious. I could hear my brain scream in panic and beg me to press Ctrl-Alt-Del. Just… what the hell?

"If you like them, I will bake some more!" Asakura playfully winked at me. "I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry. I have to go now. I hope we can enjoy my cookies together next time. See you later!"

The three of us watched in silence as she headed to the exit and left the cafeteria. When she was gone, Taniguchi sighed helplessly, unable to bear the "truth" he just witnessed.

"Kendo, huh?" He looked at me with disgust. "I can't believe you are such a shameless liar, Kyon. I told you, Kunikida, they are dating now."

"Sorry, Kyon," grinned Kunikida. "I agree with Taniguchi. Nothing you may want to say now will convince me otherwise. This doesn't look like anything different from a relationship. Still…" He sipped his own drink without taking the smile off his face. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. I won't pester you with this."

I closed my eyes shut in frustration. God, I hate you all so much. I took a cookie and cautiously bit it. It was sweet and crunchy, and it was melting in my mouth faster than I was able to chew it. Damn you, Asakura. Why do your cookies have to be so perfect?!

At least I felt no pain from my teeth. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. During our yesterday training session, I was careless enough to let Asakura hit me in my mouth with a bokken and knock out half of my teeth. We were forced to call an unplanned break, which Asakura used to heal my mouth and clean the tatami from blood and shards of teeth I was spitting. I think the cookies are supposed to serve as an apology of some sort, but Asakura ended up embarrassing me in front of my classmates. What's the possibility she did it on purpose? Pretty high, I assume.

* * *

Cookies. No, seriously. What's the meaning of that? Last I checked, Valentine's Day wasn't in September, so… Ah, was there any point in trying to guess about things that guide Asakura's actions? I've heard so many, many times that women can't be understood by using logic, and not only I couldn't call myself a women expert, but also Asakura wasn't your ordinary girl. She is an alien. So who knows what passes through her head and makes her bake cookies for me. Cookies… I can't believe it.

"Kyon?" Asahina-san, who was wearing her signature maid outfit, talked to me, looking bothered. "What's wrong? Is anything troubling you?"

After I was done with my lunch, I went to the clubroom and left those two fools, letting them discuss my nonexistent relationship with Asakura. So here I was, drinking Asahina-san's heavenly tea and thinking about the rogue alien's intentions towards me. I'm sorry if the expression on my face scared you, Asahina-san. My worries are the last thing you should disturb yourself with.

"No, I'm fine." I smiled, trying to comfort her. "I appreciate your concern, though. A good sleep is all I need to look livelier."

She didn't believe me for a second. Am I really such a bad liar?

"I can see it, Kyon," said Asahina-san, sitting down next to me and giving me a reproachful look for being dishonest. "I know you're not okay. Is it because of Asakura's kendo training?"

No, I was actually getting used to it. Despite my recent trauma, I think I'm doing better now than I was a few days ago. Just four days of training… Each one of them was worth a month, and it felt like an eternity had passed since Asakura's return. Asakura, Dark Haruhi, Closed Spaces, and now the mysterious Warlocks. Enough to send your head spinning around, isn't it? You are right, Asahina-san. I'm not okay. But it has to end sooner or later.

Hey, I've just realized… Without your TPDD, you have no way of knowing that your future is in danger of disappearing. You don't know about a group of people with powers whose actions are going to rewrite the fabric of time. You are unaware of two professionals from your faction trying to set things straight and prevent a disaster. You are completely out of the loop, Asahina-san. I can't tell you, since telling you won't be easy without speaking the whole truth, but I'm worried about you as well. I can't bear the thought you will be gone from the history… And from this one plane of time.

I wonder if saving Kyoko Tachibana will help. It could be crucial to saving the timeline, or it could be trivial, and perhaps the adult Asahina-san asked for my assistance because she herself has no time for it. Whatever her reasons, I feel like I should talk to Koizumi about it. But he wasn't here yet. There were only Asahina-san and Nagato. Not even Haruhi was here. Just the three of us.

But moments like this were the only times I felt safe. When Nagato and Asahina-san were here with me, and Haruhi and Koizumi weren't, I could forget about all the troubles in the world. I could have all the tea I wanted and relax in silence. It is only thanks to you, girls, that I can keep my wits about me and fight the insanity of the few recent days. When I'm here with you in the clubroom, my life is stable. It's kinda ironic, though. You two are an alien and a time traveler, but your company gives me the normality I need.

Thank you. For being here for me, for everything you've done for me. You, Nagato, and you, Asahina-san, are the best gifts from destiny I ever received. I can't lose either of you. And I won't.

"I told you, Asahina-san." This time, my smile had more sincerity in it, and I sounded more convincing. "The only thing I need is a night of sound sleep. Otherwise, I'm perfectly fine. At the moment, at least."

The door opened. I turned at the sound of familiar steps and saw who came in. Just the person I wanted to see.

"Hello everyone."

"Oh, Koizumi." I stood up, leaving my cup of tea and promising to it to come back soon, and approached him. "We need to talk. In private. Have you got a few minutes?"

The esper looked surprised, and somehow I knew the exact puzzled face Asahina-san was making behind me.

"Of course." Koizumi took his bag off his shoulder and left it on the table. "Judging by how urgent you appear to be, it has to be something of great importance. Lead the way."

But before I could touch the doorknob, I had to stagger back, because the door opened once more, and Haruhi dashed in, holding something in her hands.

"Out of my way, out of my way, out of my way!" I hopped away just in time in order to not be knocked down by Haruhi. She had a huge grin on her face, which rivaled Monkey D. Luffy's, and was radiating more enthusiasm than usual. Whatever's that thing she's brought, it has to be the reason of her happiness. It was a plastic bag, which she placed on her table near the computer.

"What's inside that bag?"

"Oh, I can't tell you that," giggled Haruhi in response. "I can't show it to you, either. Because this is something truly special! I can't believe it's already here, and so soon! I don't know how that's even possible!"

Every time she's so excited, it usually means a new crazy scheme she is going to carry out by using us as her free laborers. But what could probably make her so cheerful now? If I can't know what's inside the bag, then it can only be one thing…

"Asahina-san's cosplay costume?"

"That wasn't hard to guess." Haruhi gave me a wave of the hand. "I can't really commend you for that. If there is someone we have to thank for it, it's Shiraki and his immense generosity! Not to mention that he exceeded all expectations in getting this thing for us sooner than I imagined. You could learn a thing or two from him, Kyon!"

Thanks, I think I'll be fine with just learning math from him.

"So, Mikuru! This is it – the costume you wanted." Haruhi tapped on the bag, grinning in anticipation. Asahina-san squeaked, realizing what was about to happen. "Now that it's here, we have to see how it's going to look on you! Do you agree?"

Oh, I get it. I don't need any powers to know that her next words are going to be…

"Kyon, Koizumi, Yuki…" Haruhi somehow managed to turn a finger pointing at the door into a royal gesture worthy of a queen. "Leave us alone! The eyes of an onlooker will only ruin this fitting session. No one but Mikuru and myself is allowed to see this fabulous outfit! Now – get out!"

Okay, I didn't expect she'd be so dramatic. But I got the gist of it correctly. Under Haruhi's watchful eye, Koizumi left the clubroom first, followed by me and Nagato. As soon as the alien closed the door, its lock clicked, and we could only judge what was happening in there by Haruhi's chuckling and Asahina-san's protesting noises.

Some things never change.

"Here's a good opportunity to have a private conversation far from Suzumiya-san's ears," said Koizumi, rubbing his chin and smiling at the sounds behind the door. "So, shall we find a secluded place for a small talk?"

"No, this place should do. Nagato already knows everything. Koizumi…" I took a deep breath, preparing to spill all the beans. "Listen. Yesterday, Nagato and I met the adult Asahina-san in the city library…"

I told him everything I heard from Asahina-san (big) that day. About her partner whose identity she couldn't reveal, about her mission to keep the future intact, and about that faction of creepy fellows. Koizumi was listening carefully without interrupting, but when I mentioned Tachibana, he lost control.

"Kidnapped?!" Realizing he shouted that word, he switched to whispering. "Are you serious?"

"That's what Asahina-san said." I gave him a gloomy look. There was no way he could have taken it easy, I know. "Those twins came after Kyoko and her parents and took them away. And when Asahina-san helped them escape, they came after them again."

"Twice…" Koizumi said under his breath, utterly mortified. "And those… Warlocks… still hold them captive? What do they want from Tachibanas anyway?"

I shrugged.

"All they knew was that someone would come every day and use his powers on them, but that is all. Kyoko couldn't grasp anything else. None of those guys ever spoke to them, nor have they let them see what they looked like. The twins are the only Warlocks Tachibanas and Asahina-san know about."

Koizumi muttered something obscene, nervously tucking his tie.

"As if Dark Haruhi wasn't enough." He reached for the cell phone in his pocket. "I need to inform the Organization about it. I've never heard about a faction called the Warlocks, but maybe some of our other members have…"

"Come on, Mikuru, quit struggling!" merrily said Haruhi's voice, accompanied by the young Asahina-san's chirping. Good grief, I wish I could peek at what was going on there through the keyhole, but its shape wouldn't allow me! "You know what they say – nothing is true, everything is permitted! Now just let me put this on you… That's a good girl!"

"I'm not finished yet." Koizumi's thumb stopped jumping across his phone's keyboard. "According to the adult Asahina-san, Tachibanas can be saved if I help them."

"You?" Koizumi frowned. "She said you can rescue them from those Warlocks?"

Koizumi's voice was filled with doubt and disbelief.

"I don't mean to offend you in any way, but I find it highly unlikely that an ordinary human such as yourself can stand a chance against a whole faction of superpowered people," he explained his reservations. "Perhaps you had misinterpreted Asahina-san's words, and she actually meant something different?"

I strained my memory, trying to recall what exactly Asahina-san said to me.

"No, she made it pretty clear that I am the only one who can do it. She said it was a predetermined event… And that with my help, it can be ensured that Tachibanas will be finally safe from the Warlocks. That was the reason she came to the library – to ask for my help."

Koizumi gathered up, gripping his cell phone so tightly his knuckles went white, and looked into my eyes. The dead serious expression on his face gave me goose bumps. I've never seen him like this before. The esper appeared so determined it was scary.

"I'll join you."

"Excuse me?"

"I will accompany you when you go after Kyoko and her parents," said Koizumi. "I want to see to it personally that they get to safety, and their kidnappers pay. When is it going to happen?"

Wow, this was… a rare sight. Koizumi was pissed off for real. I didn't think hearing those news would affect him so strongly. Maybe I shouldn't have told him? No… It would be unfair. I don't know what his relationship with Kyoko Tachibana is, but I know what it's like to suddenly find out your friend has gone missing. I perfectly understand Koizumi's eagerness to become involved. It's nothing if not natural.

"Once the adult Asahina-san finds where they are being held and comes up with a plan, she'll let me know. And Koizumi…" I nodded my head, accepting his offer. No, I think I've got it wrong – it wasn't an offer. Koizumi was just saying what he will do about the situation. I'm sure he won't hear any objections if I change my mind and decline. "I'll be honored if you join in. Unless Asahina-san says otherwise, you certainly must have a hand in this. And even if she does, I won't be stopping you."

"Thank you." Koizumi's eyes lit with gratitude. "Thank you for understanding. You have no idea how important this is to me."

I wanted to say I knew exactly how important this was. After all, I once took a knife in my guts to bring a lost friend back. But maybe I shouldn't talk about it so carelessly in front of Nagato – I didn't want to be tactless and make her feel the guilt over again. I still remember how devastated she was after the world became normal… I mean, _not normal_ again.

"What about Asakura…?"

"She doesn't know anything," I replied instantly, having been expecting this question. "If her words are to be believed, she had never heard about a group called the Warlocks. She doesn't even know who Tachibana is. Among Sasaki's so-called friends, she only met Kuyo Suou, and even that encounter was too short."

After I called Asakura yesterday, she said she was on her way home and would be glad if I came to her place as soon as I could. Filled with mixed feelings because of Asahina-san's (big) tale, I asked Nagato if it would be okay for us to leave immediately. She didn't complain, of course, and we left together without any objections on her behalf… But I hope I didn't hurt her feelings. So much for giving her a happy day I wanted.

As for Asakura, when I caught up with her and said that I had a few questions, she was rather wary to speak in front of Nagato. In fact, she refused even to open her mouth until I politely asked Nagato to give us some privacy. If you think that made me feel bad, it was about to get even worse. Once it became clear Asakura knew nothing about Tachibanas or their kidnappers, I almost howled like a wolf, hating myself for ruining Nagato's day. And to think Taniguchi was there somewhere, watching me… That moron.

I guess I screwed up on this. Well, my project isn't done yet, so I still have an excuse to visit the city library and bring Nagato along. Please forgive me, Nagato. Next time will be better than before, I promise.

"Well, that wasn't too difficult, was it?" happily said Haruhi's voice behind the door. "Look at you! Mikuru, you are so majestic and wonderful in this! If only I knew you had such elegant tastes, I would have let you choose your own costumes long ago! This needs to be shot on camera… Or even better, I'm taking you home with me! Tee hee! I'm just kidding. Do you like it?"

"Y-Yes, Suzumiya-san…" cheeped Asahina-san. "It is just like I wanted it to be…"

"Well then, don't forget to tell Shiraki how grateful you are! And now… Let's take it off!"

"Kyaaah!"

"Now I'm really curious what that costume looks like," I changed the topic to a more casual one, trying to outtalk the resumed ungodly noise in the clubroom. "Nagato, you were with Haruhi and Asahina-san in that costume shop, weren't you? Is there any chance you saw what Asahina-san chose for herself?"

"No, I did not."

"Well… Maybe you have an idea about what it is? What the costume is?"

"The term 'costume' can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period," replied Nagato.

"Um… Yeah, I know that…"

"Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances represented or described."

"But that's not what I was asking…"

"The term also defines a particular style of clothing worn to portray the wearer as a character or type of character other than their regular persona at a social event such as a masquerade, a fancy dress party or in an artistic theatrical performance."

"Nagato…"

"In combination with other aspects, costumes can help actors portray characters' age, gender role, profession, social class, personality, ethnicity, and even information about the historical period or era, geographic location and time of day, as well as the season or weather of the theatrical performance."

"You're messing with me!"

"No. I am quoting Wikipedia."

Koizumi snorted, covering his mouth. I've spent the next few moments staring at Nagato's inscrutable face, trying to grasp the meaning of everything she's just blurted at me. Then, Koizumi broke out laughing, and I've realized the true weight and relevance of that unnecessarily long quote. Which was, to say, zero.

"If I had a mirror, I would have shown you what your face looked like when you were trying to comprehend Nagato-san's words." Koizumi's voice was trembling, and he was wiping some drool from his mouth with his sleeve. "I never realized you possessed such a talent, Nagato-san. I am impressed."

"You're welcome," replied the alien.

I closed my eyes and shook my head, grinning like a fool I was. Well done, Nagato, you've caught me off guard once more. Keep up the good work. But regarding my initial question, I take it Asahina-san's costume is a mystery to you, after all.

"The four of you had ordered your costumes on the same day," quietly said Koizumi to himself, already deeply submerged in his thoughts again. "But Asahina-san's came first, and it was the only one purchased with Shiraki's help… Hmm…"

"I don't see anything strange about it." I really didn't, and I couldn't even if I tried. So what if Asahina-san is the first to get her cosplay outfit? Maybe the managers already had in stock what she wanted, or she was lucky and the costume was on its way to the shop before she even came there. Or maybe Shiraki is rich enough that he can speed up the delivery process.

"You needn't worry," calmly responded Koizumi, showing me his usual smile – a good sign. "Neither do I. I'm just thinking out loud."

Uh-huh. As if I don't know about your delusional interest in Shiraki. What you hope to find out by digging up information on him eludes me. Haven't I given you other pressing matters to worry about? Weren't you going to tell your Organization the news about Tachibana and the Warlocks?

"This will have to wait," answered Koizumi. "It seems like Suzumiya-san and Asahina-san are done with their fitting session."

Indeed, the voices behind the door had finally disappeared. I harked to any sounds I could detect, but there were barely any. Silence didn't last for long, though: soon, it was interrupted by a click of the lock. And the moment the door began its movement, it was then when I remembered about other important business – important to Haruhi, anyway, and for the contest. Something I was ready for in no possible way.

"I've heard the laughter, Koizumi! I suppose the three of you weren't bored, waiting for us to finish?" Shining with happiness, Haruhi was looking out of the doorway. Tilting my head, I could peek at Asahina-san, who was sitting on a chair… and surprisingly, she appeared about as cheerful as Haruhi. At least I saw her combing her slightly messy hair with a smile on her lips. Was the costume really that good? Damn it, I want to know what it is!

"Kyon! What do you think you are looking at?"

Facing Haruhi, I've noticed that her anger was little more intimidating than a mosquito bite. How interesting.

"Just making sure Asahina-san is all right after having been locked up in a room with you."

"What are you, dense? You can't peek inside a room with girls without their permission!" shouted Haruhi at me. "You've never allowed yourself to do such an outrageous thing before, for as long as I've known you! Mikuru's privacy was the most sacred thing for you! How dare you…!"

"Don't we have a song to write?" I sighed, opening the door wider so Koizumi, Nagato and I could come in without Haruhi getting in our way. Not that I had any idea what to write about. Still, trying to do so is going to be more productive than listening to Haruhi's ranting.

"You… Why you…" Haruhi was becoming blue in the face, and she looked like she was choking on her own words. "We'll discuss your behavior later, Kyon. It's absolutely inexcusable! But if you are so eager to work and do something useful once in a while, so be it. Yuki, Koizumi…"

* * *

Good grief, nothing is ever easy with Haruhi. I should have never expected things to go without a hitch. What was her original idea? Attending a cosplay contest, dressed up as fictional characters from various franchises. Haruhi wants to be Shepard, Nagato decided to cosplay as Rei Ayanami, I chose Obi-Wan Kenobi, and after a day of thinking, Koizumi and Asahina-san picked Ichigo Kurosaki and some yet-to-be-revealed ninja, respectively. I wish I'd done my homework and knew about the skit thing beforehand. Skit, skit, skit… At the very least, we need to write a script for it, but no, Haruhi just had to make it a musical skit. Of course, it wasn't the first time we had to participate in something like that. We shot a movie that threatened to turn our world into a wacky fairy tale, and we actually made another song once before. Two of them, in fact. The first one ended up playing in our heads non-stop because it came along with a sound monster, accidentally created by Haruhi's subconscious, but that's not the point. All the times, Haruhi was the one who wrote those things. Alone. Using nothing but her own creative mind.

This time, the task's difficulty was on a completely different level. Every one of us had to write their own lyrics for their character. According to Haruhi's judgement, nobody could know our characters better than ourselves, because we willingly made our choices and didn't let anyone make a decision in our stead. Therefore, it shouldn't be a problem to write performance and interaction of the characters we chose to play. In rhyme! Piece of cake, isn't it?

Now guess who already had a fully prepared fragment of the SOS Brigade's song. A certain someone – won't tell you who that is, you already know it's Haruhi – wrote Commander Shepard's portion of the script. And that person whose name you don't need to know (Suzumiya, okay?) believed in the rest of us so strongly from the deep of her heart, she had no doubts we could do just as fine as her. It turned out Koizumi had already written a small portion of Ichigo's verses… At least he was the only one beside that most talented girl, whose identity is left open for you to discuss, who crossed the starting point and had the required minimum to work with. I'm sure Nagato will have no trouble writing Rei Ayanami's part. But as for me and Asahina-san… We're so screwed. Not even writing a Literature Club magazine that one time was as hard as this new challenge.

But that was still pretty normal for a school club. Yes, the task at hand is unfairly difficult, but instead of chasing something that doesn't even exist throughout the whole city, we sit in the clubroom and exhaust our brains, working as a team and sharing ideas with each other. That's what clubs at school do all the time. So I shouldn't really complain, even though I only managed to give birth to a couple of lines. I'll never be a poet, I know. The real problem was, today's normality was about to reach its end.

Something I couldn't do while using others' help didn't go anywhere. Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina-san don't seem to mind it anymore; of course, they still advice extreme caution. No one really knows when my personal quest does a 180 and I end up dead, or worse. Kendo training with Asakura was waiting for me, as she insists we practice every day. Should I ever decide to skip a single session, she will… That's not something I want to find out. Instead, I want to get closer to solving Dark Haruhi's mystery… and maybe it's just me, but Asakura actually wants me to succeed in earning this prize by beating her. Why else would she insist on this otherwise pointless training?

So there I made it to room 505. The first thing I saw when Asakura opened the door for me was the cookie she was chewing. Not the whole cookie, of course. She was holding most of it in her fingers. Cookies again… Now this was just plain irritating.

"Tell me, Asakura." I took of my shoes and made my way inside the living room. It still looked as cozy as ever, but this time I could see a bowl full of those cookies standing on the coffee table. Calm down, Kyon, it's only rational she keeps them at home… "What's with the cookies?"

"What about the cookies?" Instead of her school uniform, Asakura was wearing a white T-shirt with an exotic blue ornament on its right side, and a pair of lounge pants. "Do you mean to tell me you didn't like them?"

"Did you really spend an entire night baking them? I find it hard to believe."

She stared at me as if I'd just accused her of throwing newborn kittens out of the window. Innocence itself, right…

"I'm not sure I understand what you are saying."

"And I don't understand what you are doing, Asakura." I sat on the couch, fixing her with my eyes and trying to find any signs of deception I could. "What game are you playing with me this time?"

All I heard in response was silence. What, a genuine surprise? I don't buy it. Quit pretending, Asakura!

"You've told me about your mission in this world, but somehow, I don't think Dark Haruhi ever said you must be nice with me, much less entertain me with your home made bakery food. Because it would be really kind of her – everyone else gets to be trapped in a Closed Space and suffer all kinds of horrors, and I get the cookies! How do you explain tha-"

Asakura stuffed her half-eaten cookie in my mouth before I could finish my sentence. I'm not sure which shocked me more – the fact she did this, or that I did nothing when she leaned down and her hand reached out to my face. Sweet and crunchy… but the creepy sense of her touch was still on it…

"You have a strange way of saying your thanks to people, Kyon," said Asakura, putting on her regular smiling mask. "And besides, you must not eat cookies with such negative thoughts in your head. Cookies are something you bake with love, and they want love in return. I've made them because I believed you'd enjoy them. And you do, don't you?"

Oh boy, now I regret I've touched this subject. Am I really supposed to take your words for granted? You did it just because, no strings attached? Damn it, what was I thinking when I accepted a treat from my most dreadful enemy?

"_Or maybe you're overreacting_," whispered a little voice inside my mind. "_Maybe – just maybe – she means everything she says."_

Does she? There's no way she doesn't have some kind of agenda. The sole reason she is here is because Dark Haruhi conscripted her, and Dark Haruhi is the one in Asakura's full control. If teaching me sword fighting was her only purpose, there would be no need to have her return to school. Didn't Nagato say Asakura was brought back on the same day she appeared in our class? Not only that, she was also reinstated as the class rep. Students don't transfer in or out within hours, not especially right in the morning, or even earlier at night. Only someone who has Haruhi's power could make it happen. Therefore, Asakura's every action could be to Dark Haruhi's benefit. Even baking those stupid cookies.

"You know what…" I groaned, dismissing those fruitless thoughts and foretasting the unpleasant next few hours of fierce sword clashing instead. "Forget everything I've just said. Let's get to our usual business. Where's my uniform?"

"You're sitting on it."

What? No, I'm not, what's under my butt is a pillow… Oh, here's the tip of a kendo-gi underneath. Who hides sports clothes under a pillow? Before I got the rest of my uniform from under my bottom, Asakura had already left me alone in the living room. She was going to change into her own kendo outfit in the training hall, as always, and I had to do the same where I was. Dressing into this uniform didn't require any thinking from me anymore; I could do it automatically now. When I was ready, I moved the slide door aside and set my foot into the dojo. Asakura was waiting for me with a wooden sword in her hand and a cold, determined expression on her face. I've gotten used to this sight, as well.

I faced the stand on the wall and took the same bokken I've been using for the last four days, and it was then when I noticed something strange in the corner of my eye. I turned to see what it was… and didn't believe my own vision.

"Nagato?"

Before my eyes was the quiet bookworm girl in a school uniform - none other than Yuki Nagato. I blinked, thinking it's just an apparition and trying to make it go away, but Nagato was still here. Odd, I didn't hear her open the door. Or maybe I was the one who forgot to close it?

"What…"

"Nagato, it has been such a long time!" said Asakura merrily. I turned my head so quickly my neck resented the movement and retorted with pain. "I thought you'd never come."

Her coldness gave place to that smile of hers once again. For a moment, I thought Asakura would approach Nagato and greet her with a handshake, but she didn't move an inch from where she was standing. Neither did Nagato.

"Well, to be honest, I hoped _you_'d never come, and someone else would take your place. But…" Without letting the smile go, Asakura shook her head. "It's hardly surprising you decided to do the job. After all, you are concerned about this human's safety more than those others, aren't you?"

Asakura expected her? If that's the case, why didn't she tell me Nagato would come? Wait… What is she talking about? What job? What's with my safety?

What's going on here?

"Kyon," Asakura called out for me. "Please, leave now and wait outside. I think Nagato is in for a very serious talk with me."

Nagato stretched an arm, and a ball of light appeared in her palm. Her arm was directed at Asakura. She was… aiming at her?

"Hold it!" I don't know what's happening, but I have a very bad feeling about this. This needs to stop before someone gets hurt! "Nagato, what are you doing here? You aren't here to fight Asakura, are you?"

The alien – the bookworm type – slightly moved her head to look at me.

"I had told you yesterday," quietly spoke Nagato. "The Data Integration Thought Entity has decided to apprehend the individual known as Dark Haruhi through Ryoko Asakura. I am here to facilitate the process."

"But Nagato…" I darted off and placed myself between Nagato's energy ball and Asakura. "You heard what Asahina-san said. She asked you to not let it happen. She said it's a mistake. She asked you personally not to do this, Nagato!"

"Kyon!" exclaimed Asakura. "What do you think you are doing? Get away from there!"

"It is not my choice." Nagato remained unflappable and didn't lower her hand. "The Data Integration Thought Entity has given its orders. My task is to destroy Ryoko Asakura here and now. Move away."

"But the training!" I grabbed Nagato's arm, trying to make her put it down. "Because of Asahina-san, now we know for certain it is significant in some way! I must continue training under Asakura. If you destroy her, who knows what the consequences will be?"

Nagato's arm was as stiff and immovable as that last time in the Closed Space. Her eyes, however, were not. Nagato… I can see how it is. You haven't forgotten our yesterday encounter with the adult Asahina-san, and her words don't ring hollow for you. You really aren't here by your choice.

"Is your judgment based upon Mikuru Asahina's differential _t_emporal clone's words?"

I nodded. You know it well, Nagato. You know I don't trust Asakura, and the reason why I visit her every day. This reason has nothing to do with Asakura herself. I doubted my own decision, until Asahina-san (big) came. But thanks to her, I am sure I'm on the right track.

"Would you consider training in kendo using my assistance, instead of Ryoko Asakura?" asked Nagato.

Training… with you? Could you do that…? Of course you could. You've learnt to play guitar in a matter of seconds when Haruhi asked you to play with her on stage. If necessary, you can teach yourself to wield a sword just as easily and pass those skills on to me. If that's how you put it, do I really need Asakura?

The alien – the class representative – was observing the two of us carefully without speaking. Asakura didn't make a single move since I've entered the hall. But I could feel the tension in the air between her and Nagato. If I don't do something, this won't end peacefully.

"I… I appreciate your offer, Nagato," I answered slowly, floundering instead of speaking with confidence. "But… I can't agree to this. I'm not sure why, but I believe it's better off to let Asakura be. Please, tell your boss this is all a bad idea. I need to know what she knows about Dark Haruhi. If you destroy her now, we will never find out-"

Suddenly, I felt a powerful blow when something collided with me, and Nagato disappeared from my sight. I heard an explosion, and everything I saw was momentarily tinted with a flash of green light. I wallowed on the floor and realized somebody's arms were holding me tightly from behind. This person had a familiar apricot scent.

"I knew it was a mistake to let you handle this," spoke a voice I knew. A girl's voice. "You had your doubts about coming here, and you tried to dissuade the consensus from attacking Asakura. And now you have let this human distract you and disobeyed your orders."

"Let go of me, Asakura!" I shook myself loose from her grasp and got up on my feet. The moment I did it, fear paralyzed my very being and shackled my movements. What I saw was something I have never seen in my worst nightmares. Nagato was lying on the floor with a big hole in her back and didn't move.

She was lying at Emiri Kimidori's feet. The green-haired alien girl was staring coldly at me, freezing me to my bones. And here I thought Asakura's gaze was scary. A glowing arc of green light was in Kimidori's left hand. It looked like… a bow.

"Greetings to you," smiled Kimidori. This was the most frightening smile that's ever showed before my eyes. It made me sweat cold, and my legs were shaking. Why is Kimidori here? What did she do to Nagato? "It is unfortunate we meet again under circumstances like this."

"What have you done to Nagato?" I wheezed in terror. Nagato! Please, move! Just twitch a hand, or bend a finger, or blink with your eye, but do something! Don't just lie there motionless!

"I have disabled her motor functions." Kimidori raised her energy bow, and the fingers of her free hand made a ring, as if she was nocking an arrow. "It was a necessity. I have no time to waste trying to fight both Asakura and Nagato simultaneously. And that's exactly what Nagato was about to do now: side with the enemy. All because she has forgotten where her loyalty should lie."

A brightly glowing green line ran from the tip of Kimidori's fingers to the middle of her bow's arc. She aimed the arrow point-blank at Nagato, preparing to shoot again. This can't be happening… Nagato, please… Move! Move! Move!

"And now my current order is to terminate Nagato's data link for disobedience and treason." The arrow blazed with blinding green light, producing an otherworldly, eerie sound of impending doom. "Nagato knew what awaits traitors in our ranks, yet she still made the wrong choice. As such, she will suffer the ultimate punishment."

Another explosion deafened me, but something covered the flash of green from my view. Asakura knocked me off my feet again, carrying me in her grasp. Before my brain could process everything that happened, she had put me down on the floor. And then I noticed she was holding Nagato in her other arm.

"Stay down and don't try to do anything, you hear me?" Asakura left the paralyzed Nagato by my side, and a wall of shining light separated us from her. "You can't help Nagato. But the power of Kimidori's attack is going to wear off soon. Nagato, when you can move again, strengthen the barrier from your side!"

I'm not sure Nagato could even hear her. If she could, she didn't let her know.

"Close your eyes for a second, Kyon." Asakura turned her back to me, facing Kimidori. "I'm going to change."

She's going to change clothes when there's an alien in the hall trying to kill her? Does she have no better way to use her time in a situation like this? But I did as she asked, and when I opened my eyes after a few moments, Asakura was dressed into her school uniform. Light reflected from a piece of metal Asakura was holding in her right hand. I shuddered again at this painfully familiar view.

It was _that_ knife.

"I knew Nagato didn't come alone," said Asakura. I could see Kimidori aiming her bow - she seemed ready to shoot any moment, but it looked like she was waiting for something. "There's no way she could have broken inside this hall on her own. It is because it's not a part of this building, and in fact, it doesn't even exist in the outside world. This here…" Asakura made a wide gesture with the knife in her hand. "This space is under my data jurisdiction. No one can enter or leave without my permission. Kyon is the only person in the world who has it. The fact that Nagato has breached the most powerful barrier I could form around this place means that she had help in doing this. That is why you are here, Kimidori."

So that's why this hall looks so abnormally big! All this time, we've been training inside a space similar to the one she lured me once before? But why did she need this place to be under her data whatever? Was it because she saw this coming? She knew what actions Nagato's boss was going to undertake in response to Dark Haruhi's assault? It's most likely so. Seems pretty valid to me.

"However, not even the two of you combined possess the strength required to get inside. Nor are you powerful enough to inflict any harm upon me. Considering you've just taken down your ally, I'm afraid, this spells enormous trouble for me. There are more of you outside, aren't there?"

The slide door's surface rippled like water, disturbed by a thrown pebble. Out of thin air, more people appeared and stood by Kimidori's side. Boys and girls, teenagers like myself, grown-ups and even young children – soon, Asakura was standing against a whole crowd of Humanoid Interfaces, each one holding a glowing weapon of their own and prepared for battle.

I gulped. There was no way out for Asakura. My attempt to stop the worst from happening has failed… And now she was going to die by Kimidori and her fellow aliens' hands.


	13. Chapter 12: Change of Heart

_**Chapter 12. Change of Heart**_

_"Can you tell me if there are many others like you on this planet?" _

_"A lot." _

_"Does that mean there'll be those who might attack me like Asakura did?" _

_"I won't let them." _

That was the conversation I had with Nagato one year ago. The night before that, I was dragged into a Closed Space together with Haruhi. She was so bored with the reality she had to live in, she unknowingly used her own power to escape it and try to forge a new world, one she'd find more interesting and exciting. However, that was going to result in the old world being wiped out and replaced. No one was willing to let it happen and find out what kind of a new reality Haruhi might be able to create, and that's why Koizumi found a way to sneak into that space and give me a message from Nagato. With the hint she provided, we were able to prevent the disaster and convince Haruhi to stay and let our world keep on existing. In case you're curious about the said convincing, I don't want to talk about it. Find someone else to bug with it.

And not so long before that, the turning point in my relationship with Nagato took place. I found an anonymous note in my shoe locker and, unsuspicious, accepted the invitation written in it. In our classroom, Asakura was waiting for me to trap me there and attempt to end my life, and Nagato made it just in time to save me and banish my assailant back to whence she came – the realm where her and Nagato's boss lives, wherever that is. Thinking back, had Nagato been accompanied by all of her alien comrades to protect me from Asakura… That cavalry would've been one impressive view to behold, not to mention their struggle. So why am I not impressed right now? Why don't I feel anything but fear and worry?

Looking at the uninvited newcomers through a bubble of shimmering light was difficult, and I couldn't make out most of their faces. But their numbers were great, indeed. At least half a hundred of the Humanoid Interfaces have gathered for the sole purpose of fighting and eliminating Asakura… But why? What are they going to do once Asakura is vanquished, just like she was the last time?

"Well?" Asakura's back was turned to me, so I couldn't see the expression on her face, either. Her stance, however, was more relaxed than Kimidori's or any of her colleagues'. Is she really underestimating them, or is this bluff? Or does she think she can win against all of them? "How long are you going to stand there, pointing your toys at me and doing nothing? Excessive waiting won't do any good, mind you. If this stare down takes any longer, the human over here might starve to death, and somehow, I don't suppose anyone present would want that…"

Her defiant words did the job, and the front row finally made a move. A dozen of Humanoid Interfaces, with the exception of Kimidori, charged in, but Asakura remained still and didn't move a single inch. The first one to reach her was a dark-skinned guy who was holding a tomahawk made of glowing purple energy. He raised his weapon for a strike, but before he had a chance to land a blow, Asakura's leg kicked him in the stomach and sent him tumbling on the floor. He immediately got back on his feet, but another one was already engaging her.

A girl with a ponytail, dressed in a school uniform I've never seen before, was wielding two sai, one in each hand, and coming at Asakura from her left. Making a jump and aiming for Asakura's head, she was moving so fast I had to remind myself that it wasn't an ordinary human. But her attack failed before it reached the intended target, as well. Asakura grabbed the girl's wrist while the latter was still in mid-air and flung her away like a bag of groceries. The ponytailed girl landed on her stomach, leaving deep cuts in the tatami with her sai. Asakura did this to her without even looking, and she was already busy taking care of her next opponent. A bald guy with a staff hit the wall right next to me and Nagato, who were covered with Asakura's shield. This counterattack did nothing to him, and the next moment he, along with the tomahawk guy, the sai girl and six others surrounded Asakura, leaving a gap in their circle right behind her. Right out of thin air, Kimidori appeared a few steps away from that gap and fired an arrow, aiming in Asakura's back. The ray of green energy, swiftly approaching Asakura, made her move her feet at last. She turned around and, with astonishing precision and timing, swung her knife and cut the arrow in two, splitting it in two halves.

But those halves didn't stop their movement. Even separated, they were still pieces of a deadly weapon from a different world, and it was no surprise that they didn't work like our own arrows. Sliced in two, they flew towards Asakura's opponents, but they didn't try to avoid Kimidori's crippled arrow. Simultaneously, two thinner rays hit the aliens who surrounded Asakura… and were reflected.

Kimidori made another shot, and then I realized what she was trying to do. She had Asakura trapped in a circle of enemies who couldn't be harmed by her arrows, deflecting them instead. This made trying to dodge them meaningless as more and more arrows were being fired. And if Asakura tries to break out of this through the breach between the aliens around her, she'll have to run straight at Kimidori and receive an arrow in the face… assuming that those within don't find her first.

It's like being trapped in a room with its walls, ceiling and floor covered with mirrors, and then someone shoots a laser beam inside it. Essentially being light, the beam will be constantly reflected until it hits a surface which can't do the same. That is, the body of whoever is unlucky enough to be in a room like that when the laser is fired. I thought the aliens weren't coming at Asakura with their full strength, but their sloppy attacks served an entirely different purpose altogether: lay a trap on her and let Kimidori do the rest. I don't know what kind of power she possesses, but if it was strong enough to knock Nagato down, it most certainly will have an effect on Asakura as well.

Dodging Kimidori's second arrow and slicing one of the halves further in two with another swing, Asakura did the most reckless thing - dashed towards the opening. As I thought, Kimidori didn't waste the opportunity to try and shoot such an easy target… But then Asakura did what I expected the least: jumped out of the arrow's way and slashed an alien in front of her. Blood splattered from under her knife, and the guy's body disintegrated into dust and disappeared from my sight. I shivered, recognizing this view. That's what happened to Asakura when Nagato defeated her that day. The alien guy's data link was terminated.

Having created a new gap, Asakura escaped from the circle in no time and left it behind. A shining white ball materialized in Asakura's palm. She shot an energy beam at Kimidori, but instead of her tiny figure, it scorched the wall behind her. Kimidori blurred and vanished the moment before the white beam could touch her, and a hail of green arrows rained down on Asakura from above. She raised her hand, and a glowing square formed between her and the deadly rain. The arrows exploded upon touching the shield, failing to break through.

The aliens who had had Asakura surrounded broke their formation, and Kimidori's arrows they were keeping inside flew across the training hall. With a loud sound, something between a clink and a whiz, a beam thin as a string blew up in front of me, popping my ears. I was so caught up in watching the battle that I've forgotten about the barrier Asakura put around me… And about Nagato, who was finally getting up.

"Nagato!" The hole in her chest, left by one of Kimidori's arrows, was swiftly closing itself. Nagato sat on her knees and touched the bubble with her fingertips.

"Stay here. I will join the battle."

"What? Stop it right there!" I grabbed Nagato's hand, prompting her to look at me. "I won't let you take part in this. Stay with me inside this barrier!"

I could see my own face, reflected in Nagato's calm eyes. You bet her statement didn't make me glad. That was the last thing I wanted her to do now.

"Whose side were you even going to support? Nevermind, don't answer that," I stopped short, dismissing my own question. "I don't want to know… Regardless, I'm not going to see you get hurt any more, you hear me? Make this shield tougher, like Asakura told you. We'll wait until this fight is over, and then – and only then - you may break it down."

Whether Nagato wanted to protect Asakura or obey the Entity's order and stand with Kimidori and the rest, I couldn't allow her to do either. Asakura was doing better against her attackers than I expected. Should Nagato return to the fold, there's no guarantee Asakura will not be able to cut her down like that guy. And if Nagato sides with her, then there are plenty of opponents for them both. If Nagato turns on them, then her own data link will be definitely terminated for such treachery. Of course, Kimidori has already decided Nagato had betrayed the Entity, but she hasn't done anything yet. It's better if it stays that way. Should Asakura lose, I might be able to make Kimidori change her mind. Should she win…

_Can_ she win? The more I'm thinking about it, the more appealing this option sounds. Not only I had my reasons to want Asakura to keep existing, but now I've also come to dislike Kimidori from the bottom of my heart for attacking Nagato so insidiously. Even if it was my fault, from a certain point of view. If I had let Nagato to go ahead and attack Asakura, Kimidori's first arrow would have been meant for a different target… But I'm certainly not responsible for Kimidori's decision to handle my interference in such a way. That's why, when I turned my eyes to the aliens battling outside, I felt like I've made up my mind. I knew who I wanted to emerge victorious today, and it wasn't Kimidori. As crazy as it is, I was cheering for Asakura!

Ryoko Asakura. The former agent of the Data bless it Entity, now a puppet of Dark Haruhi. The girl who tried to kill me once and almost succeeded on the second attempt… Although, according to her words, that human version of her wasn't truly her. When Nagato fell ill because of Kuyo Suou's boss meddling, it was none other than Asakura who was summoned to protect me from Sasaki's creepy alien friend, and she did that while holding her knife at my throat and boasting how she'd kill me that time for sure if Suou doesn't go away and leave me alone. _That's_ the one I'm worrying about so much at the moment? She is the one I want to prevail?

My God, I don't know where Dark Haruhi came from, but things have become stranger than ever since she appeared. The person who had always lusted for my blood makes me learn the way of the sword under her instruction, offering me the answers I seek in exchange for a single victory. And now she protects her enemy by fighting her comrades! Is this really the same Asakura? What if it's actually some kind of an alternative version of her, one that is less violent and more sincere in the kindness she maintains? I remembered Asakura's face during our first training session. She wasn't trying to kill me, she truly wanted to help me… Even though I still don't know how this training is going to be of use to me at all. That warmth in her eyes when I said I wanted to protect my friends from Dark Haruhi, that focused look when we were fighting… And now, those silly cookies and playful attitude… This is not the Asakura I remember.

But Nagato explicitly said Asakura had been removed from the Entity's consensus. That's what alarmed all the aliens on Earth, so it has to be the same Asakura. Why has she changed so much, then? Could it be… Could it be Dark Haruhi's doing? Did she use her power to make Asakura a better person? Or maybe this is act and pretend, after all?

"Understood." Nagato nodded, but didn't put her hand down. "I shall do as you have said. Altering the defensive parameters…"

Nagato's voice drowned in the sounds of battle, so I couldn't hear her accelerated speech when her lips started moving rapidly. The bubble's surface flashed brightly and became mirror-like. Twisted reflections of Nagato and me disappeared in a moment, and then the barrier was semi-transparent again. When I saw Asakura standing between two rows of the Humanoid Interfaces, I've noticed there were fewer of them. It looks like she managed to delete another one while Nagato was busy with the protective bubble.

"Don't make me laugh." Alive and kicking, Asakura seemed intact – not even a single bruise, and not a single tear on her school uniform. The same could be said of the remaining combatants, though. "Since when have the ambassadors of the Data Integration Thought Entity become so sloppy and fragile? I've only been absent for five days, and this is what happened. Have you all come here to fail miserably at eliminating me? If that's the case, I should congratulate you on doing an excellent job."

She cut her speech short when the second row of the standing still and dormant aliens who were guarding the exit decided to join the fight. Now it was eighteen against one, and thirty more were waiting for their time. Kimidori and the rest of the first group were trying to attack Asakura, but she was able to avoid and counterattack as easily as before. Maybe it's just me, but I think they've got a bit faster… Yes, they definitely have. They've also changed their tactics: now they were coming at her two at a time, from two opposing sides at once. When Asakura dodged a black-skinned man's shining spear, she simultaneously stopped an axe's blow from behind with her knife. The second group jumped and ran in mid-air towards the battle's epicenter. Kimidori's squad surrounded Asakura again; the reinforcements appeared above them instantly, forming a ring as well.

The upper ring fired a dozen beams, similar to the one Asakura shot at Kimidori earlier. All of them were aimed at a single spot where the rogue alien was standing. Oh good Lord, this isn't the same as a few lousy arrows. At the very least, Asakura will have to raise the shield again, but will it take such a powerful combined blast? And won't that make her vulnerable against the enemies on the ground? Attacking her while she is occupied with repelling the second squad's strike should have a high chance at successfully injuring her. If I'm not mistaken, that's what they are planning… What is Asakura going to do about it?

"Come on," I whispered, clenching my fists and sending my thoughts to her help. "Show them another trick!"

The square of white energy spread from Asakura's fist and covered her head. Her shoulders and knees bent a little when ten laser-like rays came down. Kimidori's team pounced at her like a flock of vultures, and a huge fireball exploded where all of them were… and Asakura was running away from it swiftly.

Err… Hold on. What just happened?

The fire dissipated, revealing a large black crater on the white tatami. Group number two was still hanging in mid-air right above the hole in the floor, but there wasn't anybody under them. Where did everyone go? Did Asakura's shield give in, and the blast destroyed them all? But how come Asakura is unharmed, then?

Suddenly, Asakura ducked under a swing of Kimidori's weapon. The green-haired alien appeared in front of her, trying to hit her with the arc of her bow rather than with an arrow. A pool of dark red blood formed under the two girls. Asakura vanished and reappeared a few steps away from Kimidori. I looked carefully and felt the bile rising up into my throat. Kimidori was missing her right hand, and blood was pouring out of the stump.

"That's more like it," smiled Asakura. A thin red line was going down her right leg – there was a cut on the thigh. She got out of that explosion with only a minor injury? I'm positive I've missed something. "That's how mind synchronization should be utilized. It would have worked, were you dealing with someone else but me. Instead, you ended up losing your own fighters. Simply because I was fast enough to break through the circle after deactivating my shield… and they were not. Although, you were luckier than most, Kimidori." Asakura's smile spread wider, showing more of her teeth and giving her an unnerving look. "Can I ask you not to regenerate your hand? My day is being made by your bleeding."

An azure beam protruded from Asakura's stomach. Literally out of nowhere, someone appeared behind her and impaled her with their staff. A blood stain showed up on Asakura's shirt, growing in size. Displaying no signs of shock or surprise, Asakura grabbed the staff with her hand and snapped it in two, stepping forward at the same moment. The bald guy behind her who was now holding only a piece of his broken weapon… It was the very first guy whom Asakura destroyed! But… how?

"Asakura, you are so mouthy today it makes my gums itch." Kimidori's already got her maimed limb back to normal, having finished the repairs of her interface. She was coldly staring at Asakura and nocking yet another energy arrow, ready to shoot. "You were so busy talking you've let your guard down. Don't think the upgrades you've received from your new master can give you an advantage in battle. The odds are still in our favor, not yours."

"My rescuer has nothing to do with the improvement of my offensive and defensive capabilities," retorted Asakura negligently. The bleeding of her wound stopped shortly and didn't seem to affect her at all. "I've worked on perfecting my fighting style because I knew you'd come after me eventually."

Kimidori curved an eyebrow.

"You call her your rescuer?" she inquired.

"Quite an apt title, if you ask me," shrugged Asakura, twisting the bloodstained knife in her fingers. "If only you knew how much my perspective has changed ever since I was disconnected from the Data Integration Thought Entity's consensus, Kimidori. It is a curious experience. To be separated from everyone, to stop hearing all those voices… It was a shock, at first. I couldn't understand what happened to me. I thought I was deleted from the consensus, erased from existence entirely. But then I saw that person in front of me…"

Asakura went silent, submerged into her memories. My brain protested, demanding to hear more of this. Asakura was telling Kimidori about the moment she was dragged back to our world by Dark Haruhi! Isn't that a part of the information I hoped to get from her by defeating her in sword combat? So far, it was Team Data Integrated Thought Entity (did I get it right this time?) that's been taking casualties and losing, and Asakura is pouring her heart out to Kimidori. That's not fair!

"So that's what you call a rescue?" asked Kimidori in utter disbelief. "Being kidnapped from your brothers and sisters and forced to join some shady individual? And for what? Just so you could be left alone and receive an opportunity to play human in your solitude? Asakura, you _are_ a traitor!"

"Shut up, puppet!" snarled Asakura at her, waving the knife. "You, of all beings in this universe, have the least right to accuse me of betraying anyone. I, for one, have attempted to do the Data Integration Thought Entity a favor by breaking the stalemate and speeding things up so we could finally observe what Haruhi Suzumiya's power is truly capable of. And what did I get in return? Termination of my data link, that's what!"

"Is that why you chose to side with Dark Haruhi?" There was a large movement in the hall's end: all thirty aliens from reserve were moving out and gathering behind Kimidori. "Because you felt betrayed by that? Because Nagato stopped your fool's errand from ruining everything we've been working on?"

"You are wrong on two accounts, Kimidori. First, I never chose to side with anyone. And second… I don't feel betrayed, either."

I have to say, this conversation between the two of them makes me feel really jealous. Mostly because of the reason I've mentioned earlier, but also because I realized this new Asakura was a lot better than the one she used to be. There was so much I could've learnt about her if I had simply asked… but instead, the truth comes out because she needs to give a lecture to her former comrade. I am ashamed. I was so hung up about the past that I couldn't see what was before me in the present. Well, it's never too late to learn. This sounds important to me. Let's hear all of it.

"Then what is it?"

"I'm merely referring to the fact that your lot is way too eager to attack your own kind," replied the reformed alien.

"I've just told you, Asakura," said Kimidori, aiming at her head. "What you intended to do to this human was unacceptable. You had to be stopped."

"Now I understand that," nodded Asakura and scornfully added, "Yes, just now. Speaking in terms which regard the timeline of this world, I've spent an entire year in refusal. I never doubted my decision to end this human's existence for the sake of advancing the experiment. A whole year and even more… Until I was _rescued_ from your consensus."

She keeps putting emphasis on the word "rescue." Ever since we started training, she never referred to Dark Haruhi as anything other than "my rescuer." Was it simply because of her promise not to reveal the whole truth behind Dark Haruhi… or perhaps that's how she expresses gratitude, or maybe even respect for her?

"What are you implying?" asked Kimidori after a momentary silence.

"Like I said, my perspective has changed." Asakura quickly glanced upon me and Nagato, who were still hidden under her defensive barrier. "It happened because I was disconnected from you. Once I couldn't hear the Data Integration Thought Entity anymore, I was no longer compelled to follow its orders."

I was listening to her breathlessly. Here it comes; the moment of truth. The reveal behind Asakura's change of character. Please, keep talking…

"Do you understand now?" Standing like a frozen statue with her bow nocked, Kimidori was catching every word spoken by Asakura, just like I was. "I am not interested in poking Haruhi Suzumiya and seeing her reaction. That was left in the past. Because of that, I could finally turn my mind to other aspects of this world. The one person who could help me understand them… Was the one who stopped me from causing a catastrophe."

More lucid than ever, I remembered Nagato appearing in front of me and catching Asakura's knife. A small, fragile girl who fearlessly stepped between me and the person who was trying to kill me, shielded me with her body from countless deadly attacks and saved my hide. And the psychotic assailant who had disintegrated in front of me with a smile on her face… Now she was talking about the girl who defeated her, also smiling, but this smile was of a different kind.

"Yes." Asakura's eyes, glowing with warmth, were set on Nagato. "It was this little bookworm girl."

"What does Nagato have to do with your delusions?" coldly asked Kimidori.

"She spent more time around Haruhi Suzumiya than the rest of us combined," answered Asakura with annoyance in her voice, as if she had to explain the obvious. "Naturally, it left an impact on her. She is the closest to understanding what makes Haruhi Suzumiya tick. You probably won't know it from looking at her, but she also has the best understanding of humanity as a whole. She knows what they value, what they hold sacred… What they deem worth dying for and what they are determined to keep with them for as long as they live."

It was true. You really do understand Nagato. Silly me… Why am I surprised? You said so yourself four months ago, and in front if Kimidori, too. Nagato was the one who taught you to act according to your will. And since now you perfectly understand what Nagato's will is, it wasn't hard for you to learn from her. Especially since Dark Haruhi was only indirectly responsible for your development. What truly changed you was leaving the domain of your Entity superiors.

"That's why she rushed to rescue this boy the day I tried to kill him. To save his life. Not to preserve your worthless experiment, Kimidori." Asakura aimed her knife at the green-haired alien with the bow. "And you rewarded her with an arrow in the back. Good job, sister."

That's why you decided to protect Nagato along with me. Not because of an order from Dark Haruhi I only have my suspicions about, based on nothing but my distrust and caution. To repay the debt. Unbelievable… Asakura, you amaze me.

"That's what I find unforgivable about you. That is why I say I was rescued from your clutches!" Asakura was emanating an aura of power which made my skin cover with goose bumps and shiver. Her facial expression was screaming about the injustice Kimidori wrought upon Nagato, and her eyes were demanding retribution. All of those felt strong enough to obliterate Kimidori along with her helpers and put an end to this farce. This was the scariest I've seen of Asakura… but at the same time, it was also inspiring. "And that is why I am not coming back."

Predictably, Kimidori wasn't impressed by Asakura's flaming speech. Unwavered, she was still determined to carry out the orders she was given. And so was every other alien in the hall… except the one right next to me.

"Not only you are a traitor, you are also a fool." The tip of Kimidori's arrow suddenly split in three, glowing brighter and chiming louder. "It doesn't matter what you claim to understand – one should never forget where they belong to. If you are so fascinated with humanity now, then you should understand the saying 'a deal with the devil'. That's what you've gone through, Asakura."

"And now you are trying to provoke that devil," cheerfully said Asakura, firmly grasping her knife. "What do you think my rescuer will do if I am destroyed?"

"Our mission is to find that out," calmly responded Kimidori. "Then, we can put an end to this mysterious aggressor you insistently call a rescuer. Not even a differential clone of Haruhi Suzumiya will be able to face the combined power of the Data Integration Thought Entity's consensus."

Silence ensued once again, and was broken a moment later.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because I can't open your eyes to the truth… Kimidori. That's not something you can achieve with my help."

Talking time was over. I could feel it. Kimidori was mobilizing all of her forces, even bringing already defeated fighters back, in order to launch the most destructive attack she had up in her sleeve. I quickly counted their numbers in my head. Forty-two. That's how many of them are going to take on Asakura this time. _"Please,"_ I begged her silently, keeping my eyes on her and praying to every divine force in existence. _"You have to win. As much as I'm shocked to admit it, you really deserve it. If what you've said is true, then you've earned a chance."_

The crowd of Humanoid Interfaces flickered before my eyes, swiftly moving from one spot to another. Each one of them stopped in different places around Asakura, both on the floor and in the air, creating an odd formation… Edges of a cube? Kimidori, who was still nocking an arrow, placed herself in one of its eight corners… and made a shot.

Her target wasn't Asakura.

Nagato and I watched as Kimidori's strange arrow split in three, and each part traveled through the adjoined edges, made of her fellows, lighting up the whole formation and ending their path in the opposite corner. Confused, Asakura was watching this show, not realizing this could mean nothing good for her. She's never seen an attack like that before? The more reason not to let them finish it!

"Asakura!" I yelled as loud as I could. "RUN!"

Too late.

Green at first, the edges were gleaming with all colors now, and the entire formation became enveloped in a multi-colored layer of energy, giving the cube sides. Asakura finally realized it was about time she tried to get out, but before she could react, eight more aliens appeared inside the cube and surrounded her as well. They were the ones who were destroyed by the second major attack – the beam spam. They've put themselves in a similar way as those around them and formed a smaller cube, trapping Asakura even further. Good grief…

Scintillating with blindingly bright colors and producing a deafening cacophony, two cubes began to shrink and compress, threatening to crush Asakura inside. I thought I saw flashes of light from the center of the complex formation, which had to be Asakura's attempts to escape. Damn it… Right when I thought she has become likeable, those jerks are going to end her! It's unfair on so many levels! After everything she's said about herself and Nagato, it felt like she had redeemed herself… And now, the victory is not going to be hers after all.

Asakura was encased in a thick shell of many colors, making it really hard to make out her features. There was no way to tell whether she was still struggling, or the combined power of Humanoid Interfaces was already killing her. I'm sure "killing" is the right word. I think I know why the destroyed aliens were able to return – because they never truly die. When their data link is terminated, they return to their Data Interface Thought Entity, and it can easily send them back into the fight. But Asakura… Does she share the same link with Dark Haruhi? If not, then her destruction will be permanent, and she will never come back…

Is the shell really doing anything at all? Since it had ensnared Asakura, nothing else really happened… Why are the aliens turning around? What are they looking at? I turned my head to see it, and…

What the hell is that?

At first, I mistook it for a giant chess piece. But then, I realized it was someone, dressed in a particularly strange outfit. A black cloak with a yellow outline, fully covering that person's body, leaving only a glimpse of their legs. A large cape was encircling the visitor's head… Seems like the cape is red on the inside. But the weirdest thing was his or her head – black, spiky, with an indigo circle in the center of their face… Is that a helmet?

"Haruhi Suzumiya?.." uttered Kimidori, also astonished by the guest's unusual appearance. Haruhi? What is she talking about?

Wait… I've seen this before. In the desert Closed Space, I saw a black chess piece on that white tower. It fell, and then it had wings… Red wings. And a human body. I felt cold shivers throughout my whole body. This was the person I saw in that Closed Space. And Koizumi theorized it was…

"Is that really… Haruhi Suzumiya?" wondered a Humanoid Interface next to Kimidori.

"There's no mistake about it," replied Kimidori, unable to get her eyes off the visitor. "That data encryption can only belong to her. We have successfully lured Dark Haruhi out."

Dark Haruhi! So that's what she looks like! What's with this weird costume? Why is she standing there silently? What is she going to do now that she's come? Oh boy… My heart was about to break out of my chest. Too many incredible things have happened before my eyes today. I might not take the strain…

A hand in a black glove came out from under the cloak. Without a hurry, Dark Haruhi raised her hand, her face (or should I say 'helmet'?) turned to the aliens… And then she snapped her fingers.

The sound of the explosion that gesture caused almost destroyed my eardrums. Panicked, I covered my ears, but didn't sense a warm touch of blood leaking out of them. Even inside Asakura's bubble, I could feel the crushing force pressing me down on the floor, and not even Nagato could resist it, lying next to me. I opened an eye and saw the Humanoid Interfaces being torn to shreds and disappearing without a trace, leaving only the colorful shell behind. Little by little, the storm calmed down, and the next moment I was watching the bubble dissolve from Nagato's touch.

The battle was over. The alien intruders… have lost.

The shell cracked, releasing Asakura out of her prison. She fell on the floor, but quickly got up on her feet to face her rescuer. Dark Haruhi… Looks like she's saved Asakura twice by now.

"You surely like to take your sweet time," spoke Asakura, staring at Dark Haruhi. Odd, that wasn't the look I expected to see. Asakura seemed wary, keeping her distance from the cloaked guest. Dark Haruhi said nothing in response. Instead, she turned towards me and Nagato.

My throat was dry. Dark Haruhi was just standing there quietly and doing nothing. I couldn't even see her face behind that helmet. What is she thinking about? What are her emotions? Is she glad to see me? Is she going to kill me now? What does she want?

"Haruhi…" Fixing her with my eye and hardly believing what I saw, I made myself speak. This moment… I could never expect anything like that so soon. I didn't know how to act in front of someone who so effortlessly dispatched half a hundred of powerful extraterrestrial beings. Shocked, scared, awestruck… Which was it? How exactly did I feel? I didn't know. But I had to say something.

"Haruhi…" The cloaked figure which resembles a chess piece didn't move. "Haruhi… Is it really you? Talk to me."

I heard a click, and a hole appeared in Dark Haruhi's helmet. My mouth was wide open, and I could do nothing about it. Through that hole… an eye was looking at me.

A blue eye.

It stared at me for an eternity, although I knew only a few seconds had passed. And then the eye winked at me.

The hole closed, leaving an intact helmet, and Dark Haruhi silently walked towards the exit. She moved the slide door aside and left me, Nagato and Asakura alone, as if she never was here.

"Wait…"

"Don't bother, Kyon." Asakura approached me and gave me a hand. It was so hard to get up when my legs were so stiff. Thank you for your help, Asakura. Nagato had no problem standing up, though. "You need to calm down. You've seen too much for one day. Try to clear your mind now and stop thinking about everything you saw today."

I didn't answer. I was still trying to grasp everything that's happened. Aliens… fighting… Dark Haruhi. My head is about to explode.

"Nagato." The bookworm girl turned to Asakura when she called her name. "What did my rescuer tell you?"

What her rescuer told Nagato? When? She didn't speak a single word. What is she talking about?

"I was asked to relay a message to the Data Integration Though Entity," said Nagato in monotone. "Next time it attempts to interfere with Dark Haruhi's plans… it will be erased from existence."

I didn't feel anything anymore. No fear, no surprise… nothing. I think my emotion factory has exceeded its plans for the next few years of my life. I felt nothing when Nagato answered Asakura's question. Dark Haruhi conversed with her without me hearing it. Fine by me. It doesn't matter how it happened.

"I see." Asakura wasn't affected by her answer in any way. "Hopefully, this will prevent any further interruptions in Kyon's training. This was a big folly on the Data Integration Thought Entity's part. Frankly, it's not known for being unable to learn upon its mistakes. Today's incident will never repeat."

Having nothing more to say, Nagato left the training hall as well, leaving just me and Asakura. She glared at me appraisingly.

"Are you all right?"

I nodded.

"Yes. I'm not hurt."

"Kyon." I froze and didn't move, so Asakura decided to exploit it by going behind my back to change her outfit again. "You weren't supposed to have witnessed this showdown. I hoped they would confront me elsewhere, not within this incredibly-hard-to-break-in space, so you wouldn't even know it happened. But nothing can be done about this now. We have to carry on with our training. Don't just grab a sword. Focus on what you have to do."

"I will." Holding a weapon, even a wooden one, made me feel slightly better. But gathering my thoughts was a totally different thing. Calm down, Kyon. Asakura is fine. Nobody destroyed her. You can go with what Asahina-san (big) had told you and continue your training. Everything's all right. Even Nagato is fine.

"You know what, Asakura?" I said and found out I could speak without my voice trembling. "Your today's performance… It was sheer brilliance. I'll never forget something like that."

"Oh. Why, thank you," replied Asakura with a colorless voice. I took a deep breath and continued:

"You also protected Nagato from Kimidori. This is something I can respect. I've seen you in a completely different light today. You've surprised me."

She said nothing, silently looking at me. Did she pick that from her "rescuer"?

"And you know what else?" I sounded more alive this time. I even found myself able to make a smile. "I actually liked your cookies."

Asakura smiled back at me and bumped my head with her wooden sword.

"Now that's the proper way to make a girl feel better!"


	14. Omake Time! Asakura Plays With Fire

_I've decided to start writing some omakes for this story. You know, for shits and giggles. Between the chapters, the cast will find themselves in various situations, ridiculous and not so much. Let me know what you think about this idea. If you like it, I'll definitely make some more!_

* * *

_**Omake Time! Asakura Plays With Fire**_

"Ooooh, I'm so tired!" I moaned, lying on Asakura's couch exhausted. I looked at my wrist watch. It was almost 8 P.M., and I knew my little sister was going to complain about me coming back home so late and not receiving any punishment from my parents. All because they think I've found myself a girlfriend and spend time at her place every day. If only they knew the truth…

"Kyon?" I turned my head at the largest angle it was humanly possible. Asakura has left the training hall and was wearing the T-shirt with blue ornament on its right side I saw earlier this day. "Aren't you going home?"

"I am." I closed my eyes, enjoying the blissful touch of the couch's soft surface. "Just give me five minutes. I'll rest and head back to my place."

"Well," a smile appeared on Asakura's face. "If five minutes are what you need, then how about some cookies before you go?"

"That's a sound idea." I reluctantly got up and stroked my school uniform. "Although they would be even better with some milk. Where's the kitchen?"

"Right that way… Oh wait, Kyon, please don't go there!"

"Oh my God…"

Show of hands - have you ever had a house fire? Then you must know what it looks like after the fire has been put out. All stuff you have at home is left black and scorched, walls are covered with burnt stains, and the smell… Oh, dear God, the smell. If something like that happens to a friend of yours, you'll be careful with fire for the rest of your life.

What was before my eyes, however, actually looked like Hiroshima after it got nuked by the USA. Walls and ceiling of the whole kitchen were blacker than the devil's heart, the glass in windows was melted and leaked all over the sill, and a thick layer of some white substance was covering the floor, the sink and the stove. And I think this small pile of charred sticks used to be a table and a couple of chairs…

Asakura rushed to catch up with me, but it was too late: I've already seen this grim picture. I'm ready to bet all of my family's money it's going to haunt me in my dreams until I die.

"What in the world happened here?"

"Well…" Embarrassed, Asakura was twirling a lock of hair on her finger. "I've told you I had spent the entire last night baking my cookies, haven't I? Actually, I ended up extinguishing the fire most of the time."

"Did you use up a whole fire extinguisher?"

"Five of them, to be precise."

I'm surprised you've managed to make your cookies taste so fantastic after you had your kitchen destroyed in a blazing inferno. You weren't cheating by using your powers to save them, were you?

"At least the fridge is still intact." Asakura opened its door and grabbed a bag of milk. "Is this what you came here for?"

"Yeah. Let's get out of here."


	15. Chapter 13: The Countdown Starts

_**Chapter 13. The Countdown Starts**_

The second big surprise of Wednesday was opening the door of the classroom and not finding Haruhi there. That's odd... I don't even recall a single instance when I'd arrive at school earlier than her. And that one time when a certain someone made it so Haruhi attended a different school doesn't count, because I don't believe this could ever happen again. The world is still the same and I know it for sure: Asakura greeted me today on our way up the hill as she always does, and I've also talked to Koizumi. Everything is okay… so far. Except that Haruhi hasn't come yet. Instead of her, another girl was sitting in her place.

She was wearing the female version of our school uniform, just like every other girl in North High. This girl in Haruhi's seat was spacing out the window, so I couldn't get a look at her face. All I could see was her short brown hair, put into two small pigtails and tied with blue ribbons. I looked around, trying to find Haruhi here. Almost all of my classmates have come already, and nobody seemed to pay attention to the newcomer. Could she be a new transfer student, and I was the only one in the dark about it?

"Hey." I stopped at my seat, taking the bag off my shoulder. "Howdy. I'm terribly sorry, but you are in my friend's seat. Could you please find yourself an unoccupied one?"

The girl was resting her face in her hand, hiding her features from my view. She didn't react to my words in any way. Or maybe she did; was that quiet sound a sigh she made?

I better make my point clearer for her.

"She's not a bad person, but she can be a real pain if you get on her nerves. She certainly won't like it when she comes and sees you here. So please… Um, what's your name anyway?"

"Are you a complete total idiot?" the girl responded angrily and turned to me. "Or are you trying to set the world record of stupidity? It's me!"

"Wha—"

It was none other than Haruhi Suzumiya! No mistake; I know this furious stare when I see it, as well as this thin line of her tightly shut lips. But… Why did her hairstyle suddenly change? What's the occasion?

"Oh…" Man, this was awkward. I fell into my seat, glaring at her pigtails in disbelief. "Umm… Good choice, Haruhi… Those look nice on you."

"Hmph!"

Don't "hmph!" me. I'm trying to make the situation less embarrassing here. Is this all you have to say?

"Well, frankly speaking, Haruhi…" Now I felt the need to defend myself, getting more annoyed every second. "You can't blame me for not recognizing you. You haven't changed your hairstyle in a year, so I've got used to your usual look. And I doubt it's just me. I can't be the only one who mistook you for somebody else."

"Meh, I couldn't care less if you recognize me or not," retorted Haruhi, looking out of the window again. "It's understandable. You are a busy man, always having more significant things on your mind and not thinking about other people. Work is more important than my hairstyle. At least, that's the way it should be for you."

What – wait, are you talking about yesterday? You know, when I said we should get to writing the verses for our song when you were chewing me out for taking a look at Asahina-san? Is that what it's all about? Come on. You couldn't have done this only to get back at me, could you? You couldn't. There's no way.

Two pigtails. Blue ribbons. It's just like before, when you went changing your hairstyle corresponding to every day. Monday be zero and Sunday be six, it makes Wednesday number two… Two pigtails. I don't quite remember the color pattern, though, but you did say every day has its own color. So Wednesday's is blue?

"Why are you still staring at me?"

I closed my eyes in irritation and turned my back to her. Haruhi, what's with you recently? You've been acting strange; ever since we've returned from our summer vacations, you haven't been quite yourself. I mean, you still generally act like your normal self, but you began treating me less like a friend and more like an acquaintance you're not very fond of. As if I was an annoying neighbor who dumps his garbage on your lawn every morning. What did I do to deserve this? You're being so mean and unfair to me. So much that it hurts my feelings, and I'm not being dramatic. It's true. I barely recognize you at all, Haruhi, despite connecting your new hair with you.

A little bell rang alarmingly in my subconscious, only to be stifled by the real sound of school bell. Everybody has gathered. The class started.

"Good morning, students!" Our new homeroom teacher has arrived, dressed in a sharp suit with a tie and wearing a friendly smile on his face, as usual. His lively eyes glanced over everyone present as we stood up to answer his greeting.

"Good morning, Shiraki-sensei!" He nodded, allowing us to take our seats again.

"I see nobody is absent, and that's great. Well, let's begin our lesson! Has anyone had problems with the homework I gave you?" Silence was the response. Shiraki tilted his head slightly, the corners of his mouth turned down. "Not a single soul? I know that stuff wasn't easy, and I doubt I'm so good at my job that none of you had any difficulties in doing your task. Or am I, after all?"

Chuckles were heard here and there. They belonged to girls mostly. A lonely "tch!" was snorted somewhere, as in "this guy is so full of himself it makes me sick." Taniguchi, was it you? Pleased with his students' success, Shiraki smiled again.

"Well, that's good to know. Asakura-san, please collect the homework… Now, where did we stop the last time we met? Ah, I think I've remembered. Let's get started. Today's topic is…"

Of course. How could I ever forget it. Here he is, the reason your behavior has become different, right in front of us. The new teacher and your crush, leading another lesson in math. Now I understand what's behind those pigtails – the desire to get his attention. But you know what, Haruhi? No matter how petty, vengeful and spiteful this thought of mine sounds, I don't think he even noticed you.

* * *

I didn't feel like trying to talk to Haruhi again during the following break, or the one after the next class. She'd only snarl at me, and that would be the end of it. Also, making a scene in front of our classmates didn't feel appealing at all. Perhaps I'll try it later, when we go together to the clubroom.

That's what I thought.

As soon as the long break began, Haruhi had got up and run off quicker than you could say "SOS Brigade." I turned my neck just in time to see her blue-ribboned pigtailed head disappear behind the classroom's doorway. My hand reached for her on its own, helplessly trying to stop her, but it was useless. I felt even more unhappy when I left the room myself and couldn't see Haruhi anywhere. For the last few days, she's been coming to our clubroom a few minutes later than I. Where does she go every day? To chat with Shiraki, shamelessly steal whatever minutes of free time he has?

I have a bad feeling about this.

"Are you alright, Kyon?"

I turned around and saw Asakura behind me, looking at me with compassion.

"I couldn't help but overhear your earlier… exchange with Suzumiya-san," she said. "Sounded to me like your friendship has hit hard times. I wasn't around for a long time, but I've heard it used to be a lot better. She even smiled more often than now."

Oh, don't you worry; she still does her daily share of smiling. Except that none of it is addressed to me. Seeing Asakura's slightly worried look, as if she was blaming Haruhi's behavior on herself, I realized her presence wasn't unwelcome anymore. But it didn't make me feel any better. This weight on my heart – it was there, getting a little heavier every moment.

"Yeah… The two of us have seen better days. But I'll be fine, Asakura. Thank you for your concern."

She snicked, walking from behind my back to stand a couple of steps ahead of me, gazing through the corridor, just like I was.

"I have no doubts you will be fine, but I don't think you are at the moment." Asakura looked at me from behind her shoulder. "If there is anything I can help you with, just ask. I won't turn you down."

I rubbed my eye. Oh Asakura, you are in your class rep mode again, aren't you… Because that's what you want to be. I appreciate your kindness, but you are getting a little too friendly to me. Yesterday was an important day. Now I know what exactly happened to you, what caused your change of heart, but don't overdo it, would you?

"I'll think about it. But I need to go right now and see my friends, the sooner the better. Else Haruhi will come and interrupt my talk with them. See you later, Asakura."

And with that, I hurried to the culture department where our Brigade's clubroom was. I had some very good reasons to be there and have as much time to spend with Koizumi, Asahina-san and Nagato as possible. It was because Koizumi was waiting for me near the school gate when I had arrived this morning. Not something that happens every day.

Let's rewind the story a few hours back. Try not to get too confused while you are listening.

"Hello there, Kyon."

"Morning, Koizumi," I responded to his greeting smile and shook his hand. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your classmates?"

He shrugged, putting on an indecisive look.

"Maybe yes, maybe no... I think I can afford to be a few minutes late to class. I was hoping to see you before it begins, because I'd like to discuss something with you. And I'd rather do it now than in the clubroom. Doing so should save us some time, because I have something serious in mind."

A small group of first-years passed us by. I moved out the way and grabbed the tug of my backpack.

"Do we need to find a less crowded place for this?"

Koizumi shook his head.

"It's nothing overly secret. I just think it's necessary to tell you beforehand, and you might as well see it as me asking for your advice. I'll get straight to the point, Kyon." He peered into my eyes inquiringly. "Is it alright if I tell Asahina-san about everything we've learned about Dark Haruhi's case?"

_That's_ nothing overly secret? Keep your voice down!

"Everything?" I whispered, glancing around until I was sure nobody could hear our conversation. "You mean, including what I've told you yesterday? The Warlocks and…"

"That's right."

"Tell me you are joking, Koizumi. We can't tell Asahina-san about her older self. This is out of the question."

However, Koizumi's response to my protest was a wide smile.

"Don't be afraid. I haven't forgotten that this small detail has to be kept secret from her. But I can easily find words to describe our current situation in such a way that would avoid revealing too much. I don't plan on telling Asahina-san that there are two of her… Nor do I intend to mention that you were the source of the recent information."

I frowned. He is up to something, that much is obvious…

"What do you have in mind?" Koizumi looked like a cat that had just eaten a mouse. I wouldn't be surprised if he smacked his lips now. "Have you uncovered something new?"

He nodded.

"You have? Really?"

"Truth is, I don't think it's fair to keep Asahina-san in the dark about what is happening." Hard to disagree with that, I know. But still… "After all, it does concern her as well, in the same measure as any of us. I'd like to piece everything we have together, but doing so without briefing Asahina-san in is meaningless. She can't avoid being a part of this. Do you agree with me?"

Am I to understand you have new information? Well, Koizumi, I don't have anything against what you are saying. Whenever the adult Asahina-san shows up or pulls the strings in any other way, the rest of us have to keep quiet about her in front of the younger Asahina-san. Telling her never felt like a good idea, even before the adult version of the most beautiful maid in the present and the future asked me that her existence remain a secret until the time is right. But she never told me when that time would come. Probably never at all. But really, how are we supposed to hide everything from Asahina-san when her very future may be erased and gone forever?

"So you want to tell her about everything in a roundabout way? Is that what you are saying?"

That's not a bad idea at all. I have to admit that I like it. As long as you manage to censor the parts involving the secret agent from the future and her friend in the Brigade, you might give it a try. I know I can trust you on this.

"Let's do it."

"Excellent." Koizumi beamed with joy. The way his face brightened, whatever he has discovered must be something interesting. I wish we had more time to talk, but since he only wanted to share that with the rest of our team, I had no choice but to wait until we could all meet together. "I won't delay you any longer. Let's be on our way, and see you at the clubroom."

With that, Koizumi headed towards the school's entrance, leaving me behind. His steps were lighter and faster without having to carry a backpack, so he was gone from my sight before I even made it to the door. At any rate, my next stop was the entrance hall.

You know how it's common to leave notes and letters in shoe lockers, right? It's an ordinary practice at schools, be they junior or high. It's quite understandable when you have a fairly large number of teenage boys and girls on a relatively small territory. A prejudiced one might say that girls are typically more shy than boys, who strive to be as manly as possible for their young age, but that's exactly what I said – prejudice. Because of this young age, which somehow manages to be tender and troublesome at the same time, experience and maturity are lacking. As such, when it comes to indecision, teenagers of both genders are mostly equally shy and find themselves unable to approach whoever they like and talk to them like any reasonable person would. That's when shoe lockers come in handy: leaving a letter in it can be considered romantic, and it's not something I disagree with. Wouldn't I be happy to find a message from Asahina-san in my own shoe locker? Of course I would! That goes without saying.

Today, however, I have found something way more unusual than a piece of paper waiting for me. I arrived at school and went to change into my second pair of shoes straight away, just like I always do… And when I opened the locker, I saw an object which was not supposed to be there. It was a small parcel, the size of my palm, tied with a thin band.

My eyebrows went up at this sudden find. I'm certain I never put this thing in here. So where did it come from? It's not a note, so it couldn't be squeezed inside here through the hole in the door. Does it mean someone opened my shoe locker with a key? Who could've done this? Our school janitor? But why would he go and put stuff in students' lockers? It makes no sense whatsoever. Then, could someone else have borrowed the key from the janitor? Who was it..? Oh well. Why stop and waste my time on guesses when the most obvious way to find out would be to unwrap the parcel and see what lies inside it.

I took it out of the locker. A small note was stuffed between the band and the parcel's top. I carefully pulled it out with my fingers and unfolded it. A few words were written on this piece of paper:

"_Don't open this anywhere but your home."_

The handwriting seemed vaguely familiar. Thinking back, a few people have left notes for me in the past. Two of them were Asakura and the adult version of Asahina-san. The other two were the younger Asahina-san and Nagato, and both of them gave me their notes in person. But this handwriting didn't belong to any of them, and there wasn't a signature which might let me know who left this here. Yet… I knew I've seen it somewhere before, this tingle in the back of my head couldn't lie. This wasn't déjà vu. Whoever wrote this note is someone I know.

But… Seriously, "don't open this anywhere but your home?" Am I really supposed to bring this parcel to my place when I don't even know about its contents? That would be the most careless thing ever. If someone managed to obtain the key and get into my locker, how am I to believe they didn't put here something nasty? It already smells fishy as it is, but if they want to use me to hide stolen things, or something even worse… No way. Please forgive me my rudeness and distrust, oh mysterious benefactor. I'll open it right now and see for myself what marvelous gift you've left for me.

Here go the band and the paper wrap… Underneath was a small paperboard box. And inside it was…

A wristwatch.

A digital wristwatch with a small round screen and a leather strap. And the screen was showing some digits: 98:05:50. Hey, it doesn't even show time properly. And the digits were frozen, too. This wristwatch isn't working like it should. Who left this thing here, and why? Could this be a prank of some kind?

I took the useless watch out of the box to see if there was anything else. And indeed, there was: another piece of paper, folded several times. It better have a good explanation to what was going on, or else…

"_Everyone loves good old reverse psychology, huh?"_

I sighed. Well, it wasn't hard to guess I wouldn't wait and carry this thing home, and instead decide to deal with it immediately. But still, who is this smartass? I was sure I've seen this handwriting before. It wasn't Taniguchi's or Kunikida's, but I couldn't think of anyone else who would waste their time on such a silly deal. If I really was in need of a broken digital watch, why couldn't they give it to me without resorting to parcels and notes? Good grief… What does it say next?

"_Although, I admit this whole affair must look suspicious to you."_

Hmph, I had no idea.

"_I apologize. Please accept this humble souvenir as a token of good fortune. In fact, I believe you may find a way to put this to good use. Read this carefully. Everything I've written here is true."_

As I proceeded further, I was struck with feeling of disbelief, bordering on denial. But when I got to the end, my mouth was wide open. Is… Is this really not a joke..?

* * *

You guessed correctly. That find was the first big surprise of today. Now you may find yourself wondering why an ordinary, if broken, wristwatch got me so agitated, and I would understand your confusion. All I can say for now – please, have a little patience. My tale goes on.

"Come in!"

Perfect, this voice belonged to the one person I wanted to see right now. I opened the clubroom's door to find the familiar sight: Nagato, sitting in her chair in the corner and reading a book; Koizumi, sitting at the table and looking at me who's just come… And, of course, Asahina-san in her maid dress, pouring some of her wonderful tea in a cup. Sadly, that last thing had to wait for a while.

"Hello, Nagato." The alien girl raised her head and greeted me with a nod. The events of last evening didn't seem to leave a slightest impact on her, despite them being quite shocking and unexpected. That's a relief. Her well-being confirmed, I turned my attention to the one I wanted to talk to first.

"Asahina-san, there's something I need your help with."

Her little mouth with red pouty lips opened in surprise.

"Huh? Of course. What can I do for you?"

I held forth the second piece of paper I had found in my locker. Asahina-san slowly took it with her tender fingers and unfolded it.

"Please read it carefully. Then tell me if it's what I think it is."

Koizumi, who I knew wanted to get to explaining recent events, was befuddled at this. Sorry, pal; I haven't expected this myself, and I didn't have a chance to warn you about it. But I suspect it is as important as what you plan to do, so I hope you don't mind we sort my business out first. Okay?

Asahina-san's eyes were running across the letter, and I knew she had finished reading when she released a loud gasp of surprise.

"This is… No way!"

"Yeah, I can imagine how you're feeling." Her reaction was exactly as mine after I had read what was written on that paper. Dumbstruck in disbelief, but faced with proof she could not ignore, which only magnified the effect. "But is it genuine?"

Asahina-san nodded energetically.

"Yes. Yes, it is! When did you find this?"

"This morning." I turned to Koizumi, who was dying to hear more about the letter's contents. "Right after you and I spoke. Sorry about stealing your stage time, but I just couldn't wait any longer. Plus, there always was the risk. What I found in my shoe locker could be dangerous, so I had to confirm its nature as quickly as possible."

"May I see it?"

"Of course. You can read it aloud."

Asahina-san gave the letter to Koizumi. Unlike me, who was simply stunned by the message, she seemed more sprightful than a minute ago. As I thought, this was good news for her. Well, not that there was anything regarding her specifically, but…

"_Everyone loves good old reverse psychology, huh?" _Koizumi started reading. _"Although, I admit this whole affair must look suspicious to you. I apologize. Please accept this humble souvenir as a token of good fortune. In fact, I believe you may find a way to put this to good use. Read this carefully. Everything I've written here is true. I present you a special gift, one of a kind – a wristwatch which can stop time."_

I sneaked a peek at Nagato to see how she would react. To say she forgot about her book momentarily is to say nothing. This was just like the day we met Asahina-san's adult version in the city library – when she hears something important, books pale into insignificance. I smiled a little, and Koizumi continued.

"_Take a good look at this fine creation. There's something odd about its right side, a small detail that is out of place. This small, cylinder-shaped piece is called a crown. Usually, it is attached to the mainspring, a power source in some watches. I say 'some' for a reason, and that reason is, it's used in mechanical watches, much unlike the one you have found in the box. A crown is needed in mechanical watches, but the watch I give you is a digital one. And as you well know, those run on electronic batteries. So if my gift lacks a mainspring which it doesn't need anyway, what is the crown attached to?"_

"_It is part of the mechanism which affects the surroundings for a brief amount of time. By pulling out the crown, you can trigger this mechanism to create an isolated area, similar to a fabric snag on a shirt. It will appear to you like everything around you stopped its movement, while you will remain in a small bubble where you are not frozen and can still move. The watch doesn't really stop the flow of time; what it does, however, is give you extra few precious moments when you find yourself in need of them. So carry it with you at all times, because who knows when that day may come."_

"_That is all. Use this present wisely, because it can only work once. I wish you the best of luck."_

Koizumi frowned. That wasn't the end of the message; something else was at the bottom of the letter. A string of odd-looking symbols, resembling a signature. I have seen it a few times before, but this was the first time for Koizumi.

"What are these symbols in the end? Do they mean something?"

"It is a very special signature." I suddenly remembered that I should take a seat, and picked the one in front of Koizumi. "It is only used by a certain group of people. Asahina-san's colleagues."

"The Mission Code," she whispered. "It indicates the significance of the message. Everything written in this letter is of the highest importance and must be taken with all seriousness. The one who receives a message containing this code must not ignore it." Asahina-san's eyes were trembling. We haven't seen anything like this since the time when she had to travel a week back into the past and hide from her own past self in order to complete a mission: act as a decoy and allow herself to be kidnapped by Kyoko Tachibana and her own team of espers. The nastiest part was, it was all orchestrated by none other than Asahina-san's older self. Apparently, she'll grow up into one hell of a masochist.

Now I know whose handwriting that was. No, I still don't know who exactly sent me this… But I know for sure _what_ he is. That person is the one Asahina-san works with – the man whose duty is to act against Dark Haruhi. He left the wristwatch for me, and he probably was the one who made it with his own hands.

"So…" Koizumi handed the letter back to me. I promptly hid it in my pocket. "It is something used by the time travelers. Is my understanding correct, Asahina-san?" She nodded in response. "And the watch mentioned in that letter? If you have it right now, Kyon, may I take a look at it?"

I did as he asked, and Koizumi thoroughly examined my find. He stroked its wide metal strap and the lock on its end with a watchmaker's interest… If he were one. Then he lightly tapped on the watch's glass with a fingernail. I don't think he has any idea what he's actually doing.

"The materials don't seem to be any different from the ones that are used in production of modern wristwatches," Koizumi drew a conclusion. "The construction, however, is slightly unusual, exactly as described in the letter. These digits look strange, as well, but they weren't mentioned at all… Nagato-san."

Koizumi stood up and approached Nagato, who seemed to have forgotten about her book entirely, her attention occupied with what was going on.

"Could you please examine this watch yourself? The only one who can confirm its properties is you alone."

Oh, that's right… Why didn't I think about it? Asking Nagato to analyze this thing with her powers should've been the first thought to have occurred to me. Maybe my wish to avoid burdening Nagato with my own problems runs deeper than I think. Meanwhile, she was making the same movements as Koizumi when he was fiddling the watch in his hands.

"The message in the letter is truthful. The description of this device's properties was short and allegoric, but otherwise accurate. Its mechanism operates on a similar basis to that of a TPDD. Instead of creating a breach in a time plane to enable travel to a different one, it deforms the time plane where the device is used."

Erm… Thank you for your insight in this matter, Nagato. But "fabric snag" sounds friendlier to my ears. Koizumi returned the watch to me and went back to his seat.

"I see. It is most interesting. And by a fortunate coincidence, it complements my own announcement. Now that the four of us are here, please hear what I have to say. The day before yesterday, a friend of our Organization made contact with a different party." Asahina-san brought me my tea, earning a grateful smile from me, and took a sit next to me. "It was a member of your faction, Asahina-san."

A friend of your Organization, huh? Well, that's one way to put it. The easiest way, actually.

"A member of… my faction…"

"Yes." Looks like I have ruined Koizumi's surprise with my letter. His words would've had a much stronger impact, had I not shown my find first. Asahina-san was listening to Koizumi breathlessly and impatiently, but without any signs of shock. I'm so sorry, my friend. "That person, as well as my source, wished to remain incognito, so I can't reveal the identities of either of them. I hope you understand."

"Yes." She nodded yet again. "Yes, it's… all right. Please do go on."

Koizumi put his fingertips together.

"They had remarkably troubling news to share. According to them, Dark Haruhi may have joined forces with another faction, and their mutual goal is to destroy the timeline you have come from, Asahina-san. Their actions are going to affect the future you know, and cause irreversible changes in it. Your colleague was worried that, among other things, it will result in you and them disappearing from history completely."

"Changes… in the future? But…" Now these words of Koizumi's have caused the full effect they were meant to cause. Asahina-san's fists clawed into her maid's dress, and her face lost some of its color. "How can this be? Changing things on one time plane cannot affect others in any way…"

"This time, it may be possible," answered Koizumi with a dead serious expression. "Your colleague suggested it was because Dark Haruhi is involved. Because she possesses the same power as Suzumiya-san, she can break the stability of the future's course and rewrite the timeline as she sees fit."

I silently grasped my cup. Hearing about this a second time, and from Koizumi's mouth, wasn't as intimidating to me. If Asahina-san looks on her left, she will notice that I am not startled by his story, and it'll be suspicious… I drank some of the tea, carelessly spilling it on myself. It's hot! Hot!

"Koizumi…" Hot, hot, hot… But at least now it does look like my emotions got the better of me. I'll just use this opportunity and play along. "What are you saying? Dark Haruhi wants to destroy Asahina-san's future? So that is her goal? But… what does it mean for Asahina-san herself?"

"I am afraid… The worst."

"The worst?" quietly repeated Asahina-san.

"You will be destroyed along with your future, Asahina-san."

I was preparing myself to hear a scream of terror, or see her eyes fill with tears, or even for her to faint, and then I would lend her all help I could give… But none of those things happened. She just let out a small gasp and covered her mouth. And her face finally turned whiter than her apron. And nothing else.

For some reason, it shocked me more than it should have.

"But… if things are _that_ serious… then why…"

"There was scarce information about the other faction that allied themselves with Dark Haruhi." Koizumi didn't appear to be as surprised at Asahina-san's reaction, or rather lack thereof, as I was, and so he continued. "Those individuals are called Warlocks, but little else is known about them. Their numbers, the nature of their supernatural powers, their motivations and their identities – all those things are left for your colleagues to discover. Combined with the search for Dark Haruhi and working to stop her and their plans, your faction has got an enormous task to fulfill. Both in its size and scale."

Please, Asahina-san, don't be so awfully quiet. When Koizumi heard about all those things, he panicked. He shouted. He swore. He reacted to the terrible news like any normal person would, even though he hasn't actually got to the part that caused that reaction in him. The way you listen to it… You give me the willies. It's too unnatural for you.

"How are they going… to find Dark Haruhi, and those Warlocks?" finally spoke Asahina-san.

"The Warlocks haven't been sitting and waiting. They have taken action, and by investigating their activity, time travelers hope to track them down. The most recent thing they've done was breaking into Tsuruya-san's house and stealing something of value."

Asahina-san's eyes opened wide in a realization. That's right; you saw the mess left by those people, didn't you? When you came over for a hand-to-hand combat training session, the burglars had already left, and even the older you was done with searching for clues and gone. All you were able to observe was Tsuruya's anger and whatever chaos the Warlocks caused there. It must have been confusing for you.

"And the other thing was…" Now Koizumi himself turned sulky. "They have kidnapped Kyoko Tachibana along with her family. The reasons behind both of these actions are unknown, too."

"Kyoko Tachibana…"

Somehow, I think this is the part that troubled you the least, Asahina-san. However, it didn't make you feel any better at all.

"But this watch…" She tensed up, and her knuckles turned white when she clawed in her dress even stronger. "They want to involve Kyon in this? Is that why they sent him this watch?"

"That is correct, Asahina-san," nodded Koizumi. "According to the information received by my source, at least one part of Dark Haruhi's goals may be hindered. As a predetermined event, if Kyon participates in the rescuing of Tachibana-san, there's a high chance he will succeed. How this will affect the overall picture is unclear for now, though."

That was everything I told him yesterday. With his story finished, Asahina-san completely lost heart and crumpled. Maybe telling her wasn't a good idea, after all. She's taken it much worse than I could have imagined. Crushed, dispirited, utterly broken… Just like her adult version, only a thousand times greater. No more than a few minutes ago, she received good news from me: other time travelers are involved! There is hope, everything will be all right! Hearing that ignited a fire in her spirit, only to be extinguished by learning the whole truth.

But Koizumi was right: we couldn't hide it from her forever. It's better that we have let her know about it now than to let her discover everything later – and to realize we were hiding it from her.

Something quietly knocked on the table once, and I felt the aroma of hot tea. A smoldering cup appeared in front of Asahina-san.

"Here," calmly said a girl's voice somewhere on the right. Nagato? But… When..? I didn't even notice how you got up from your chair, let alone this! Nonetheless, there she was, and she's made some tea for the one who always makes it for all of us.

"Ah…" Asahina-san was staring at the alien girl who was standing right next to her, with an expression on her face that would appear blank for a stranger. "Nagato-san, you…"

She didn't answer. Nor did she go back to her reading spot, silently waiting for Asahina-san to react. I know what this is about. I can't say I expected this, but the smallest act in order to support her mortified friend was a very Nagato thing to do. Who said she was only limited to cracking jokes?

"Thank you." Asahina-san took the cup of tea Nagato made for her, and when she smiled, the flame in her heart was given a new life. "Thank you."

* * *

That day, Haruhi didn't come to the clubroom at all. There could be any number of reasons for that, but I guess it was a good thing. Asahina-san needed to let that load of information sink in, without any extra stress from outside. Maybe that's why she didn't come after the classes, either. After everything she's heard, she needed to spend some time alone, I suppose. Can't say I'm surprised about it.

And it's not just that. If Haruhi had been there, she would've insisted on writing that stupid song, and while I doubt she'd complain about Asahina-san being missing, she wouldn't have gone easy on me, of that I'm sure. She'd push and push and push on me until one of us would inevitably start a quarrel and make things worse… I'm not very optimistic about this, am I?

I don't want to fight with Haruhi - quite the opposite. I don't like the way we've been talking to each other in the last few days. I want to change everything for the better. Maybe I should put more effort into preparing for the contest. What could possibly have a better chance at helping her relent than showing that I'm still devoted to club activities? "_That's what I'll do,_" I promised to myself when the final class was over and I still haven't shared a single word with Haruhi. I'll make it up somehow. I'll find a way.

It was only then when I remembered what Koizumi said earlier this morning. When I was in the entrance hall and had put my school pair of shoes back in my locker (there were no new surprises inside), I took out my cell phone and made a call.

"Koizumi speaking."

"Hey, it's me. Are you on your way home already?"

"Not yet," he answered. "I will be in a few minutes, though. Is there something you need from me?"

I headed towards the exit and made it outside.

"Let's meet at the gate. I want to ask you something, and I'd rather not do it on the phone."

"Sure. I'll be there shortly."

The whole sky was covered in absolute grayness. Instead of white, fluffy cotton-like clouds on the endless dome of blue, it looked like one giant heavy grey cloud was pulled over the beauty of heavens. I would've thought I had found myself in a Closed Space, if daylight couldn't find its way even through that thick obstacle. I stopped near the school gate. Koizumi has made it here sooner than I.

"Shall we walk a little?" he suggested. Sure, why not. No point in standing here.

"I believe you've forgotten to tell us something important back at the clubroom," I decided to get straight to the point.

"Oh, that." Koizumi chuckled and turned to me, as we were walking down the hill. Descend is always easier, though I wish I could have my bike right now. "Actually, I changed my mind. The whole point of that gathering was to share all the important information with Asahina-san, and you yourself have contributed to it rather nicely. But next to everything she has learned from the two of us, this final bit pales in comparison to it and seems not as important."

I raised an eyebrow.

"But didn't you say earlier…"

"Yes, I remember it well," reassured me Koizumi. "I'll tell Nagato-san and Asahina-san the rest of it, but it would be better to wait until tomorrow. You, however… If you are still interested – and even if you aren't, it will change as soon as I begin - then let me tell you what happened to me yesterday."

Despite his casual tone, the last part startled me outright.

"Koizumi, you weren't attacked again, were you?"

"No no, it's all fine." I sighed in relief. "It's not what you think it was. It had nothing to do with Dark Haruhi… but it was remotely connected to the Warlocks."

Haven't you just told me it was nothing important?

"Emphasis on 'remotely'. You see, Kyon…" Koizumi put his hands in his pockets. "It would be wrong to say the fact that Tachibana-san became involved in our recent affairs seems strange. It _is_ strange, and for her, it must be especially so. According to Asahina-san you've met in the city library, Tachibana-san couldn't give any clear answers to her questions, isn't that right?"

I nodded.

"I suppose it means that she has not been dragged in any Closed Spaces against her will. Dark Haruhi never did anything to her – at least not directly. Instead, she sent two Warlocks after her and her parents, and together they were held somewhere until Asahina-san came to rescue them. Naturally, any help in a situation like that would be invaluable, but consider this: how would you act if you were saved from danger by a person you barely know?"

If I was saved… Well, I'm not sure… I'd probably feel grateful, I guess, but also perplexed. My question would be, if I've only known my savior for an insignificant time, why would they come to my help? Is that how you think Tachibana felt?

"It's odd that you were sent into deep thought by a question like that," smiled Koizumi. "I believe there was an instance when you were saved by Nagato-san in the exact same fashion. The few run-ins Tachibana-san had with Asahina-san weren't what I'd call friendly. First time, she kidnapped her younger version, and later, she was caught by the older version working with two people who wished to murder Suzumiya-san. So I suspect Tachibana-san didn't feel happy when she found out her savior to be Asahina-san. That much should be obvious."

Okay. One thing is plain and clear: Tachibana and Asahina-san don't have the best relationship. So what are you trying to tell me? That Tachibana pulled a face and grizzled like a spoiled child when Asahina-san tried to talk to her? Tried to talk to her… Wait.

You can't possibly mean..!

"You've realized it too, haven't you?" Koizumi grinned, mightily pleased by my reaction. I was so stunned that I didn't pick the right words on the first try.

"Tachibana lied… No. When Asahina-san asked her questions… When she interrogated Tachibana and her parents…" I stopped and looked at Koizumi in shock. "It's not that she couldn't tell Asahina-san anything – it's that she didn't want to!"

Unbelievable. After Asahina-san went through all the trouble finding where they were held, breaking inside that place and getting them out, Tachibana showed her gratitude in words only. Because of the bad blood between the two of them, she made things for Asahina-san even more complicated. And how did it pay off for her? She was kidnapped by the same people again! That foolish girl… Couldn't she tell it was too important to keep secret from her savior?

By the way, what was it that she didn't want to share with Asahina-san?

"Did you find it out?" My voice went down from the sheer surprise. I had to clear my throat. "Did you somehow find out what Tachibana was hiding?"

Koizumi's grin diminished to a barely noticeable smile.

"Don't get your hopes too high. I've caught up on this small insincerity on Tachibana-san's behalf, but without her around, there's no way for me to ask her all the questions I want. One thing I'm certain of: there is something she kept away from Asahina-san. Since she was asked the questions about Warlocks, she must actually know something about them. Problem is, Asahina-san wasn't suited for this job. She couldn't get anything from Tachibana-san. Her rescuing operation was a complete, absolute failure."

No wonder the adult Asahina-san looked so depressed. It wasn't just from all the pressure she was under, but the realization of how she messed up and put the whole mission under the risk. Maybe… Maybe that's why my help is needed next time? Is there a chance she will open up to me? Or to Koizumi?

"The day you told me about everything you've heard from Asahina-san…" He was talking again. "I thought that wasting time would be the most unwise thing possible, so I started looking for someone Tachibana-san trusts. If there was such a person, then a substantial chance existed that she would have told them about her recent troubles. I was lucky enough to guess who that person was on my first attempt. Once the Organization provided me with their whereabouts, I immediately went to pay them a visit."

"Who was that person?"

When I asked this, Koizumi's smile became wide once again. This was the moment he was waiting for, the time to tell me the most important bit of information he had. Happy to finally spit it out, he said:

"Someone you know quite well. It was your old friend, Sasaki."


End file.
